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Lesson 6: Testing the Prophets *

Introduction: There is a very curious thing these days in Christianity. If a church claims a modern-day prophet, then all other modern prophets are false prophets. If a church does not have a modern-day prophet, then all modern prophets are false prophets. Why is "false" the default setting for modern prophets when Joel 2:28-29 and Romans 12:6 seem to say the gift will be widespread? Let's dive into our study and see if common notions about evaluating prophets are Biblical notions!



  1. Test One - the True God?


    1. Read Deuteronomy 13:1-3. Let's say the prophet tells us that in 90 days a meteor will destroy Las Vegas, and that happens just as predicted. Is this a true prophet? (According to this text, we don't have enough information to decide.)


      1. What additional information would be required? (You would have to know whether that prophet led people to the true God.)


      2. What prophetic "test" arises out of Deuteronomy 13? (Being accurate in your predictions proves nothing. The true test is where you are leading people to the true God.)


    2. Read 1 John 4:1-3. Would John agree with the Deuteronomy 13 test? (Yes! If a prophet acknowledges that Jesus is from God they are a true prophet.)


  2. Test Two - One-Way Accuracy?


    1. Read Jeremiah 27:16-22. What problem is facing the people of God? (They have prophets telling them two very different things. Jeremiah tells them that Babylon is going to steal more of the temple furnishings. Other prophets say what has already been stolen will soon be brought back.)


      1. Would "Test One" help sort out this conflict? (No. All the prophets say they are relying on the true God.)


    2. In Jeremiah 28:1-4 we find a specific illustration of this conflict. A prophet named Hananiah contradicts Jeremiah on this point. Read Jeremiah's reaction in Jeremiah 28:5-6. What is Jeremiah's reaction to this prophecy which he considers to be false? (He says "I hope you are right.)


      1. Is there a lesson in this for us today?


      2. Which message do you think the people would want to believe: that of Hananiah or that of Jeremiah? (Hananiah. He is saying positive things about the future. He is giving the "pro-country," "pro-God" message.)


    3. Read Jeremiah 28:7-9. We just learned that being accurate proves nothing. Is Jeremiah saying something else?


      1. Isn't Jeremiah's test a little self-serving? He says to Hananiah "You are a true prophet only if your prophecy comes true, but I'm a true prophet whether or not what I say comes true."


      2. Is there an issue about whether a prophet is saying things the people want to hear? (Assuming you are claiming the true God for your source, Jeremiah says being accurate only proves something if you are saying what the people want to hear.)


      3. Is there any logical reason why two different tests should apply depending on the message? Why would we have a different test depending on whether the prophet is saying something that is popular? (The natural heart would say the popular thing. That is why being accurate is important then.)


    4. Read Jeremiah 18:5-10. What problem arises with using accuracy as a test of a true prophet? (The people can change. If they repent they can avoid a bad prediction, if they sin they can lose a good prediction.)


      1. If you are not confused by now, you should be. Can you ever use accuracy as a test of a true prophet? (Considering all that Jeremiah says, it seems that accuracy (whether the prediction comes true) only works as a tie-breaker. Instead of applying a one-sided test, Jeremiah is saying to Hananiah "We both acknowledge the true God. In a conflict between two apparently true prophets, you decide who is speaking for God by the accuracy of the prediction.)


        1. How much help is that? You cannot tell who is a true prophet until whatever they have been disputing happens. (It doesn't help on that problem, but it would tell you who to depend on in the future.)


    5. Let's look at one last text on prophetic accuracy. Read Deuteronomy 18:21-22. Would this prophet be leading people to the true God? (It seems so - for the prophecy is in the name of the true God.)


      1. Doesn't this reinstate accuracy as a proper test of a prophet?


        1. If so, of what is accuracy a test here? (It seems we are looking at an otherwise true prophet who gets carried away and says things in the name of the Lord that reflects the prophet's own thinking.)


      2. What do we do with a presumptuous prophet? (Read Deuteronomy 18:20 and compare it with Deuteronomy 18:22. Why would we be told not to fear someone who is dead? What I think is being said is that prophets who speak for other gods are to be put to death, but a prophet of the true God who speaks presumptiously (inaccurately) should not be feared.)


  3. Test Three - Divine Intervention


    1. Read Jeremiah 28:15-17. What bright-line test do we find here? (This is a nice and clear test: God removes the false prophet.)


  4. Test Four - Past Revelation


    1. Read Isaiah 8:19. If you want to get accurate answers, where should you look? (Ask God.)


    2. How can we tell whether God is speaking to us through the Holy Spirit or through a prophet? (Read Isaiah 8:20. You check the accuracy of the current message by past revelations you believe are from God.)


      1. What are the "law" and the "testimony?" (I believe the law is the gold-standard Ten Commandments (written personally by God). If you read through Isaiah 8, testimony refers to testimony about God. Thus, this is the familiar test of whether the prophet is leading people to the true God.)


    3. Read Lamentations 2:14. How is "exposing our sin" consistent with the law? Are prophets supposed to embarrass us? (The problem with the natural heart is that we have an amazing ability to deceive ourselves that what we are doing is consistent with God's will. Part of the work of the true prophet is to strip away this self-deception. Only when we see our sins clearly will we repent.)


  5. Test Five - The Tree/Fruit Test


    1. Read Matthew 7:15-19. What "fruit" is produced by a prophet? (This must mean the results of the prophet's work. The result of their lives, the result of their words, the result of their ministry.)


  6. One Standard?


    1. As you consider these tests, are some more important than others?


      1. Are some easier to apply than others?


      2. Is there a uniform standard or overarching test that arises?


        1. If not, is there an order in which these tests should be applied?


    2. Let me suggest the following multi-part test:


      1. The first and the most obvious and easy test is whether they promote the true God - Jesus. If they do not, they are not a true prophet.


      2. If they support God, then you must take a much closer look to make a judgment. The closer look is whether they speak in accord with existing revelations from God and whether the results of the prophet's work is Godly people.


      3. The last, and least reliable test, is whether the prophet predicted something that did not occur. It is difficult to know whether the prophecy failed because God changed His mind (because the people changed), or whether the prophet was false or just presumptuous. I would not reject a failed prophecy prophet out of hand if the prophet met the first two parts of this test. Instead, I would carefully test each subsequent statement.


  7. Application of the Test


    1. How does Ellen G. White fare when this test is applied? (She clearly is promoting Jesus and her work promotes the Bible. The resulting gospel work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church through its members and institutions is impressive. Much of what her critics argue is that she is inconsistent with the Bible, but these are mainly doctrinal disputes.)


    2. What about the charges that Ellen White "copied" large portions of her writings and was wrong on the "Shut Door" prophecy? (Copying is not a test. While "fruit" is a test, Moses and David were both prophets and they had greater problems than copying in their lives. Last week we learned that Luke acted as a compiler ( Luke 1:1-4) - which suggests he "copied" from other oral and written accounts. The "Shut Door" attack presents an "accuracy" issue, which is the least reliable of the tests. At worst, this would be a "presumptuous" statement. I think she passes the true prophet test - but as with all prophets, she needs to be continuously tested by the Bible.)


    3. Friend, are you making a real effort to know God? Read and understand the Bible. Test modern prophets, and if they past the test look for further light from God.


  8. Next week: The Work of the Prophets.
* Copr. 2009, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. All scripture references are to the New International Version (NIV), copr. 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society, unless otherwise noted. Quotations from the NIV are used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. The lesson assumes the teacher uses a blackboard or some other visual aid.

Discussion

We welcome discussion of this lesson. To contribute your thoughts, click here or scroll down to the bottom of the page.

The comments below are the opinions of our readers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bruce N. Cameron or SabbathSchoolLessons.com.

1.On that day many willsay tome, ´LORD, LORD did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?´
And them willI declare to them, ´I never know you, depart from me, youworkers of lawlessess.´
Matthew 7: 22, 23
2.Therefore, behold, I am againstthe prophete, say the LORD, that steal My words every one from his neigbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues and say:´He saith.´
Behold, I am against them that prophesy liyng dreams, saith the LORD and do tell them, and cause My people to err by their wantonness: yet I sent them not, nor commanded them, neither can they profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 23: 30-32
3.And if thou say in theine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
When a prophet speaket in the name of the LORD, if the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thoushalt not be afraid of him.
Deuteronomium 18: 21,22
Posted by Romana Bouskova on Monday, February 2, 2009 at 04:22 AM
I am having problem with the church 's position on the prophetic gift . Does the church really believe in this gift? Does it also believe that the gift together with other gifts will be binding until Christ returns? if yes , then why does the church according to the lesson posits that the prophetic gift WAS MANIFESTED in the life of E.G.White .Does this implies that the church no longer need the gift in our time?
Posted by Akaeme Stella .I. on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Thanks Bruce for the testimony continuity. I find some news perspectives in your lesson, and are:
THE TESTIMONY OF THE PROPHETIC GIFT ESSENCE

1. INTRODUCTION
The principle of this study consists in proving if a prophet or prophecies reveals Jesus. Resuming, the exercise of prophetic gift by Jesus at inside and outside of the human kind has its specifics ten commandments. So this study tells about the testimony of prophetic gift ten commandments.
Some asking about the testimony of the prophetic gift essence:
1.1. What’s the most important in prophet’s testimonies which reveal the origin, essence, and principles of the prophetic gift?
1.2. What form does Jesus reveal his character in the prophetic gift?
1.3. What’s the relation between the truth of the bible and prophecies? How can the prophecy helping to know more about God by truth? What are the links between truth, prophecies and names? Are the pray and the bible meditation important in this relations?
1.4. What’s the relation between actions or prophecies concretizations and prophetic gift?
2. THE UNICITY OF THE PROPHETIC GIFT ORIGIN IN GOD
The first essence of the exercise of the prophetic gift by Christ is the God’s existence acceptance that is unique. For this reason there is the same origin, essence and principles of every prophets and prophecies in the human history that’s the God-human Christ, in the creation, in the first and second coming, in the intercession, and in the infinite eternity.
The sense of liberty in the human kind finds in this characteristic of the prophetic gift, the answer or the decision in freedom, for linking to God’s eternal existence. By this way, begin the eternal peace relation, with God and his constant participative and harmonious creation in the universe, from his will and power.
But, this gift characteristic always identifies the two spiritual actors in conflict, and his responsibilities and influence.
So, in the pragmatic way the acceptance of Jesus depends of the sin liberty feeling, which God gives to the human kind, for to initiate a relation with God by the faith in his existence.
3. THE CONTEMPLATION OF JESUS CHRIST’S CHARACTER IN PROPHETIC GIFT
Jesus Christ exercises his prophetic gift by visions, conversations, and interpretations which reveal evidently the God’s character. The prophetic gift by Christ gives first the possibility to contemplate individually and in group, the holiness, and at same time gives the opportunity to reveal the differences by decisions of choose to the God’s character, and exercise this part of the infinite, in a diversification, development and union. So in this gift a personne will be more and more himself and unique in God´s part of his character.
4. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TRUTH IN THE PROPHETIC GIFT
The exercise of prophecy by Jesus inside and outside of the human being links the God’s eternal truth, or his word. It exist a continuous flux of God’s truth, according his plan for eternity, which concede the justification of the choices an later of the judgement.
For to believe by Christ in truth, it is necessary to contact him by pray and bible meditation, which gives the God’s creation names knowledge, the causes and consequences and their relations in eternal “time”. By this manner, with patient (opportunity) and humility (the knowledge of the position before God), it is possible questioning and ear answers from God, and about him in time, and distinguishing the feeling of separations or deviations, and the solutions, and at same time the possibility to decide for him by his grace, which permits the life in union with God.
5. THE CONCRETIZATION OF PROPHETIC GIFT BY THE HOLY GOD’S PRESENCE
The God’s action in eternity or in continuity of its development, can link or separate (by sin obviously). For to link it’s necessary the faith exercise by Christ, specifically in the prophetic gift. The great testimony of the prophetic gift it’s the concretization of what expects from God. This action in future, signify above everything the God’s presence. It’s wrong when many people admires the concretization of what is predict, and forget that prophetic gift is a preparation and anticipation with joyful, of the meeting face by face with God, who wants to show himself to his creation. So each time, the prophetic gift shows more the presence of Christ inside for to find himself in exterior, with neighbours and personally. So the meeting between Christ inside and outside becomes possible the exercise of faculty of creating, because discovers the infinite continuity of God’s creation by his presence with the human kind. For supporting this relation, only by Christ’s exercise of his prophetic gift, that’s a eternal, holiness and infinite testimony, which never be hidden, and only can shine forever, by a dependency in freedom, getting by love’s Christ in the cross. It’s the essence of prophetic gift, which demonstrates its veracity, and relation between God and his creature in the universe, that’s the life gift in the cross, for to transform his creatures in his image.
Posted by João Cavaco (SDA church in Lisbon - Portugal) on Friday, February 6, 2009 at 08:23 AM
Dear Stella,

No one authorized me to speak for the Adventist Church, but I think the "was manifested" simply means Ellen White is no longer alive. I don't think it suggests Adventists do not believe the prophecy of Joel 2 or deny the continuing gift of prophecy. (You can see in my lessons that I believe in both Joel 2 and the present gift of prophecy - although I know of no current prophets.)

Blessings,

Bruce
Posted by Bruce N. Cameron on Saturday, February 14, 2009 at 04:22 PM

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