Results 1 - 4 of 4
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Are Modern Prophets Always Accurate ? | Job | Jensen | 32283 | ||
Dear Charis…..I welcome your thoughts of course. You wrote:… “It seems (pardon me If I am wrong) that you are being awfully confrontive in your interrogation of our new forum friend.”….Guilty as charged. Confrontation in the defense of the Faith is no vice.(Please excuse the shameless pilfering from Barry Goldwater) You Wrote… “I think that modern prophets are about as accurate as historical prophets, providing that 1) they ARE prophets, and 2) they prophesy in the name of the Lord (Jesus).” Please correct me if I am wrong…..is there a biblical case in point where historical Prophets were wrong? I do not know. If there is no case of a historical Prophet being wrong, meeting the conditions you impose, then there is no case of a contemporary Prophet being wrong meeting those same conditions. I agree of course. So……a contemporary “prophet” that is wrong once, just once, is no prophet of God. Perhaps a dreamer, but no Prophet. The question then remains, and lives or dies on accuracy. You are familiar, I am certain, with the claims of “prophets” that periodically show up at various settings including this web site. Do we forget so soon the “prophets” of doom and destruction, and the fore-tellers of the Second Coming that abounded at the turn of the millenium? Only the Bereans were the nay sayers. You Wrote… “What is prophecy? Many are hung up on the 'prognosticator' aspect of this ministerial gift. According to my Bible, a prophet is a 'forth-teller' of God's word and will, not *necessarily* a future-teller.” …….Dear Friend Charis….What is the difference? Both speak to the future. If there is a semantic problem here it is most likely my error. Please correct me. You Wrote… “It seems that the real question is, "Why are so many charlatans called prophets?" No my friend. The only question I have is on accuracy, not gullibility, and the listener has no choice, especially in a Church setting dominated by false prophets. My concern is for the new Christian. Would a false prophecy lead the new believer to leave the Church by way of the back door? I think it would. In fact I think it SHOULD! A similar situation is found with the Gift of Tongues in some Churches….Would you agree that simple peer pressure leads to endless and meaningless babble at SOME Churches? How do you praise God while laughing and being silly? It must be an affront to our Lord. I am a witness to the silliness. There are churches that use a “primer phrase” that goes like this: “Shoulda Boughta Honda, Shoulda Boughta Honda, Shoulda Boughta Honda” repeated over and over until the Gift “kicks in.” Is that foolish to you? Do we let it go unchallenged, this impertinence to our beliefs in the Gifts? Peer pressure. Group psychology. Mass hypnosis. All are practiced by the stage magician. Well I am a bit over the top sometimes but I do so to defend the Faith: Not excuse the mockery and go on with my life. Make no waves etc. Christianity deals with facts not make believe. A prophet is no Prophet if he is wrong…just once. But I remain open to Scriptural support for the position that sometimes true Prophets of God are wrong. Got Milk? :-) And finally dear Charis you wrote… “Please remember that we do NOT have a record of every word that Isaiah spoke.” The implication of that statement is that perhaps, just perhaps, Isaiah had some false prophecies himself that we do not know of. That is icky. You really do not believe that any more than I. But you are a true peacemaker. And your sense of fair play is honed far greater than mine. God Bless….Jensen |
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2 | Prophet idolatry? | Job | charis | 32295 | ||
Dear Jensen, Greetings in Jesus' name! Were any of the prophets perfect and without sin? Except for our Prophet, Priest and King, the Lord Jesus, all were men. We must not elevate Biblical figures (Mary, Abraham, Paul, Moses, etc.) to be any more than faithful persons of God, or we run the risk of setting them up as idols. The word of God can, and is often spoken without telling the future. Right? Sorry, But I must be off. I'll try to get back to this a bit later. Blessings to you, my friend, in Christ Jesus, charis |
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3 | Prophet idolatry? | Job | Jensen | 32315 | ||
Dear Charis....The singular thing that sets a prophet apart from the rest of His Church is the Prophecy itself. In all (most all) other areas we are alike. All speak the Word of God, all are sinners, none are perfect. We all share the various Gifts to one degree or another. And, for purposes of this discussion, all are faithful servants of God. I grant it all. I agree with you. Now if we may turn to the original question of accuracy: Please know again that it is my only question. Are you really saying that Biblical, historical, true Prophets of God were sometimes wrong (in their prophecies)? Is there Scriptural proof specifically that would support that thesis? Is it just a guess? (I remember Benny Hinn predicting that all homosexuals would be destroyed by fire by the year 199?. Should we listen to his other prophecies?) Is it okay to be sometimes wrong as a Prophet of God? I just can’t see that. However, for the sake of unity, I am open to persuasion. I admit it is a new field of Christianity for me. I do not take on the role of “fraud detector” but, gee whiz, sanity win out. This discussion reminds me of the one hosted by the Forum on numerology in the Bible some time ago. Bible Codes indeed!! I was open to it, with proof. But there was/is no proof. Is accuracy NOT a good predictor of the true Prophet? What else shall I use to know if a true Prophet is......well......true? I am beginning to consider that the Spiritual Gifts as outlined in Corinthians ended with the end of the Apostolic Age. Thanks for taking part in this discussion. God Bless....Jensen |
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4 | Prophet idolatry? | Job | charis | 32322 | ||
Dear Jensen, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Perhaps the difference is that I see prophets as chosen ministers of God, whose gift is simply to speak forth God's word for the edification, exhortation and consolation of the saints, the church. This would include speaking of future events, but only as God wills. I, personally do not think that God wills us to know that much of the future. I think that God will speak to his saints words of future ministry, and perhaps a vision for the church for encouragement. But we do NOT need to know specific numbers, names and dates in order to walk the path He has set before us. As to the details of the lives of Biblical prophets, we hardly know anything at all. But I see no evidence that they just walked around all day every day spewing forth the mind of God and telling everyone of future events. I would imagine that the greater part of their life was not too different from other servants of God. As to whether they were special or not, God told Elijah that there were 7,000 other prophets in tha land even after great persecution. Only a few were chosen to bring forth what would become the Bible, but this does no diminish the 'other' prophets in God's sight. To counter your demand that I bring forth proof that these fellows were prophets 'all the day long,' I could ask you to prove from the Bible that these fellows were NOT normal people, In New Testament language, 'parts of the body.' My friend, I believe that you have fallen into the trap of looking at today's charlatans, and being disgusted by their antics, have decided to discount the faithful servants of God that do not seek fame and fortune. I am glad that sanity is winning, and that you have some discrimination, but do not throw out the good with the bad. I'm with you about numerology! There is only one capital "P" Prophet. All the rest are prophets. Frankly, I am not too impressed by anyone that makes a living with 'Prophet' on their namecard. They HAVE TO perform, whether God is speaking or not! Because they have booked this big hall, and hypnotized thousands into coming to hear their 'oracles.' What a sham! (but, Oh! the 'black ink!' :-)) Is it 'OK' to be sometimes wrong as a prophet of God? Of course not! That is why a prophet (or any gifted minister) must be careful with their words to make sure God is speaking. Is there grace? Of course there is! But should we sin that grace abound? May it never be! Prophets today need to be trained in the Bible, and in wisdom and humility before they start serving the church. As far as 'international ministries,' I don't know a one that I consider holy. But I DO know servants of the local church that fulfil the requirements of the Bible. I any case, I am not here to persuade, but learn and share, just like you! In Christ Jesus, charis |
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