Tests for a Prophet
Pre-reading: I Kings 22
In 1857, in South Africa, a ‘primitive’ tribe were troubled by a vision
that a member of their tribe, thirteen-year-old Nongqawsue, reported to have
seen in the waters of the River Gxara. She told her fellow Xhosa that she had
seen the faces of their dead elders staring up at her from the depths of the
waters. Furthermore, she prophesied, if the tribe wanted to regain its dead
leaders, then they must slaughter all their livestock on or before a certain
date. Commentator David Frost tell us the date was February 18, 1857, and that
as a result of following this advice the entire tribe starved to death.
How can we tell if someone
is fatidical (gifted with prophetic power)?
There are only two types of prophets: true or false. The Scriptures
abound with stories of false prophets – from the false prophets on Mt Carmel (I
Ki 18) to the foolish ‘wise’ men of Babylon (Dan 4:7,18:7 Then came in the
magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the
dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation
thereof.... all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me
the interpretation: but thou [Daniel] art able; for the spirit of the holy gods
is in thee.)
The Four Tests
Malachi 3:18 KJV - [Ye shall] discern between the righteous and the
wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
1.
Lifestyle
Look at the prophet’s life. It certainly will not be perfect but, in
general, the prophet will be a spiritual, God-fearing person. Moses, for
example, had two failures recorded against him, but the majority of his life,
the record tells, us he lived in accordance with God’s Word. (Deut 34:10 And there arose not a prophet since in
Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.)
2.
Biblical Harmony
The things the prophet says will harmonise with what the Bible says.
Scripture clearly teaches that if the message is contrary to the Bible the
speaker is not a true prophet. (Isaiah 8:20 KJV - To the law and to the
testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no
light in them.)
The fact that a prophecy is (or is not) written down, is not a test.
The Bible gives examples of both:
Written: Matthew 13:14, Acts 2:16, II Peter 1:20, Revelation 22:10,
etc.
Oral: Acts 11:27, 15:32, 21:9, I Corinthians 14:3, etc.
3.
Accuracy
Do the prophecies come true? This question must be answered in regard
to what the prophecy says, whether or not it is conditional. For example Jonah’s
prophecy against Nineveh (Jonah 3:4 KJV - And Jonah began to enter into the
city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall
be overthrown.) was not fulfilled because the people of Nineveh repented and
turned to God. However Moses threats against Pharaoh (Exodus 5:1, 17:17, etc. -
And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD
God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the
wilderness. / Thus saith the LORD, In
this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that
is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be
turned to blood. Etc.) came true because Pharaoh did not let God’s people go.
In general, if the prophecy is not a threat with a promise for leniency
(in the actual words (eg. Moses) or in the context (eg Jonah), then the prophet
can be identified by the fact that the prophecies come true.
4.
Reflectors of Christ
Finally, the fourth test of a prophet is a check on whether or not
their lives glorify & emulate Jesus.
Philippians 2: 5-9
5 Let this mind* be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men:
8 And being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.
*To have the mind of Jesus is
to reflect God’s attitude: (Jer 29:11
KJV - For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts
of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.)
