The Furnace of Earth
.... The Spirit of Christ spoke through the Old Testament prophets in foretelling the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (1 Peter 1:10-11). But when they received these initial impressions, clearly indicated though they were, they still had to search them out and make diligent inquiry in order to understand their meaning, asking "What" or "What manner of time" the Spirit of the Lord was indicating to them. And this was the beginning of a process that could take them some time:
.... "The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."
(Psalm 12:6)
.... The prophet who received the revelation is the 'furnace of earth' mentioned in this passage. Through his deep searching in the spirit, his understanding of the mystery was refined until, at last, it became as pure as the message itself when it was first given. From the time he perceived God's revelation until the time his pen touched to paper, he'd come to understand it's meaning perfectly.
.
.
.... So in this we find a lesson for today, to be applied when someone approaches us with prophecy. It is such a deep work within them simply to understand what the Spirit is saying that, by the time they’ve found the words for expressing it, they should also have a very deep understanding of what God intends by this message:
.... "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge . . ."
(1 Corinthians 13:2)
.... According to this passage, a true prophet should understand the mystery that God has signified, and they should have all knowledge in the matter. This means we should be able to press them for further details in the same manner that they, themselves, had questioned the Lord in the first place: "What is the heart of the Lord in telling us this? What does He wish to convey? What is the Lord attempting to say to us ?" (1 Peter 1:11). And they should really be able to expound on it further, as necessary, to fully presenting it in the manner God intended..
.... But on the other hand, if you challenge someone and they shrug their shoulders and say, "I don’t know, I just felt led to say it." — beloved, do not believe them. Because, according to 1 Corinthians 13:2, they should understand it, and you are responding quite properly by asking the same basic questions that they should have been asking all along:
.... "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
(1 John 4:1)
.... So if you receive an answer as lame as the one above, you should commit the prophecy back to God and leave it on the back burner unless and until He comes along to support it in some stronger way. And that should definitely include some good, solid Scriptural support for the basic truthfulness of the message content.
.
.
.... But on the other hand, we’re all human and it’s possible for a prophet to make a mistake on his end of the communication. Romans 12:6 gives evidence of a learning curve that a New Testament prophet faces as he learns to step out in faith. Therefore, we shouldn’t expect the same degree of perfection that we saw from the Old Testament prophets who were playing a role for the ages. .
.... In addressing this learning curve, God has provided a protection mechanism for our time. With that as a brief introduction we’ll begin a tangent on the New Testament process of judging prophecy, starting with our next posting.
To proceed to the next lesson, click here
Daily Bible Reading: Acts 10
posted by loren at 1:54 AM
4 Comments:
Hi Kurt,
Praise the Lord and thanks for the encouragement. I notice that you are new to blogging and that you're planning to start daily Bible studies also. Praise the Lord for the company! I think the body of Christ needs to get a better grasp on the basics, and especially in seeing Jesus through them.
By
loren, at 9/22/2005 1:22 PM
We should probably note that, even though the prophet is asking ‘what manner of time’ the Lord is indicating, he is not likely to get an answer in terms of dates and time of day (Acts 1:7). It is much more likely that timing, if a necessary part of the message, will be expressed in terms of events and the sequence in which they must occur (as in Luke 21:7). The only exception I can think of would be if a futuristic event was scheduled in human terms (like a meeting or public event), and the prophecy connected with the timing in that way.
By
loren, at 9/22/2005 1:22 PM
Loren, I love your post here, especially about "testing". Discernment is sorely needed in our churches. I believe that spiritually, if one can inherit spiritual gifts, I inherited a gift of discernment from my mother. (Of course, if not, then we both operate similarly in that gift). It is not often that I have given a message of prophecy, but when one is being given, I pray continually throughout for God to give me what my mom would call a "check" if it is somehow wrong.
I remember being in Pentecostal services growing up where someone would speak out a word of prophecy, and I would receive such a check. As a kid I didn't feel I had any authority to speak out against it, but every time that I had such a feeling, the pastor would always himself be led to speak out to silence the speaker.
When I was about a year away from finally converting to Catholicism, I learned about the Charismatic Catholic Renewal, and I went to a big conference that they were having nearby. While I was there, a man in the stands (it was held in a hockey arena) spoke out loudly to "prophecy". Immediately, I felt that something was amiss, and wondered if the charismatic Catholic leadership would speak out, and how. I was greatly releived and overjoyed when the guest speaker (a nun, incidentally--I can't remember her name. Sr. Helen something...) began her talk interrupting the "prophet". She didn't speak out directly to rebuke him, but simply spoke over him as if she didn't hear him (easy enough to do when she had mics and he had only his voice, in a hockey arena). Eventually, and fairly quickly, the man shut up and sat down, and she continued on. I thought it was wonderfully perceptive and effective for that situation.
But I've gone on long enough. God bless
By
Gregory, at 9/23/2005 12:36 AM
Hi Gregory,
You've put your finger on one of the biggest problems with prophecy. It is supposed to be judged when it is given, and there's a proper procedure for doing so (that's coming up after the weekend). But this is almost never properly observed. And let's be honest: if we don't take God seriously enough to obey His word and judge prophecy, why should He take us seriously enough to give prophecy?
On the other hand, if we follow the safeguards He has given, just see how powerfully He speaks in this way!
In my experience I've rarely seen it done properly; but when it was, every prophecy that passed in the judgment did come to pass at a later time.
The 'usual' method for judging prophecy (as opposed to the correct method) is that someone stands up and speaks openly, like the man you mentioned, then someone else either agrees with it or disagrees. The problem is, no one wants to hurt their feelings by disagreeing, even if it was unscriptural, so they're reluctant to speak up. But on the other hand, if everyone remains silent, it is viewed as tactic acceptance.
In my church, on the few occasions when someone has prophesied openly, my pastor has made judgment an open question as well, and he usually turns to me first. Again, this is really not the proper way to judge it, but it's better than nothing. He's seen, on past occasions, that if it's unscriptural I'll say so as kindly as possible, and not shirk this responsibility. So if he thinks it' unscriptural too, I think he turns to me as sort of a 'hatchet man.'
Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. A two-part presentation on judging prophecy will come up after the weekend.
By
loren, at 9/23/2005 3:55 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home