The Purpose and Effect of Revelation - PART 2
THE PURPOSE & EFFECT OF REVELATION
PART TWO
Continued…
I watched a “prophet” on a well-known prophetic show share a word about the US president and specifically reference the infamous “Q” drop conspiracy ring as proof of the veracity of the prophecy. “Q” had mentioned the same thing two years prior to the prophecy, and, according to the prophet, the Lord was speaking the same thing that “Q” had said about the president.
The Lord said to this prophet: “Do you not know that who he illegally poses as president is referred to as Pedo Peter by his son?”
The “prophet” expounds on the statement the Lord made to him: “We’ve known this, some of us, for two years. The conspiracy theory of “Q” told us this stuff two years ago. Again, to people that keep trying to say that Q is a conspiracy theory, all his conspiracy theories have been born out.”
Ostensibly, the conspiracy theorist had an idea before the Lord did. Consider this in terms of Isaiah 42:9:
Isaiah 42:9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.
“Q” was declaring new things two years before the Lord. In stead it could be read as this: “Before they spring forth Q has told you.”
These are significant problems of credibility today when it comes to corporate prophetic utterances. When what we are hearing the Lord say is the same thing a conspiracy theorist said two years prior, it calls in to question the source of the information. Did the prophet only hear God say this to him because he was already predisposed to this kind of lingo? If prophetic words are filled with words, phrases, ideas, and vernacular that have entered into our lexicon because of news cycles, alternative news sources, and conspiracy theorists it is next to impossible for the susceptible listener to discern who is speaking. Is it your own ideas or the Lord?
A quote from Gregory the Great from his Homilies on the Prophet Ezekiel on the fallibility of prophetic ministry is an excellent clarifier:
Those who are familiar with prophetic ministry can be susceptible to being misled by their own familiarity. They can easily assume that the judgement they pass in their own spirit is the spirit of prophecy. A holy prophet, moved by the Holy Spirit, will be quick to repent for speaking falsely.
Another early church work, the Shepherd of Hermas, also brings clarity:
According to the Shepherd of Hermas, there are those who are asked about what is going to happen and that is the first clue that this is not of the Lord. The Lord speaks as He wills, not because we are anxious about the future and/or the present. The second point is that the false prophet speaks some things that are true but speak according to the desires of the listener.
Take the above example that I shared. The “prophet” releases a word to those who follow them. Those who follow them are anxious about what will happen. The prophet has consumed enough in the news cycle to fill up someone for a lifetime (as many of us have) and speaks according to their own emptiness (which is a lack of faith and trust in God as evidenced by the overwhelming anxiety that permeates charismatic prophetic circles). They speak what they have filled themselves with. As admitted by the prophetic person themselves, they have filled themselves with conspiracy theories. They speak according to the desires of the people, and it’s a reflection of their own desire. Then, those who are anxious, harmonize with the message because it speaks to their own emptiness. We “resonate” with the word because of confirmation bias, not because it is a word from the Lord.
When your prophecies all point to the political landscape you have a problem. The purpose of corporate prophecy is to enable the church to respond to the beck of the Spirit of God. It should spur the church to acts of love and service. Does God care more about elections and political leaders or the poor and widowed?
I suspect that, since the prominence of the Evangelical church has been slowly waning in America (and much of what constitutes contemporary prophetic ministry finds its home in the Evangelical church), many of these prophetic voices see no point in prophesying to the church. Presently, how do Christians tend to think that change will be affected change in society? By electing politicians that will put in place the right policies. Our response to the crises of the world is not to feed the poor, but to elect officials.
And besides that, our politicians have become our priests and pastors. They are the ones who tell us what is right and what we should believe. Is it any wonder that some of those in prophetic ministry mainly focuses upon the political sphere then? The church and state (in many circles) have become synonymous.
Furthermore, a lot of the problematic prophets share a common theme of nationalism. The country may be different, but the end result of their prophecy is that the particular nation they belong to will rise up. Their prophecies do not speak to the church but to the national identity.
With all that said, I do not think that the vast majority of what constitutes prophetic ministry today intends to be problematic. There is a combination of factors at play, and I don’t believe that a desire to deceive and mislead people is one of them. Factors such as nationalistic idealism, cultural anxiety, theological indifference, social media pressure, and misguided practices all contribute to where we found prophetic ministry today.
Perhaps many are taking what God is saying to them personally and declaring it publicly when it was never intended to be a public declaration. In John 16 Jesus claims that the Spirit will speak and lead us into truth. However, the context for this is knowing Christ and the Father. These things the Spirit is going to share with you are not for the world, but for your life.
John 16:12-14 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.