Leaving Beyond – Grounded In Scripture

Written by: April J. Buchanan

You say that you test every “prophetic word spoken over your life,” yet you do not test every word you claim God spoke to you for someone else; instead, you place that burden entirely on their shoulders alone. So let us deal only with the words of those who claim to speak on behalf of God and that you claim to have received from those who claim to hear from God. You test it, right? Have any of those words ever been wrong, even if slightly wrong? If so, what steps were taken afterward? Does your church practice discipline in such cases? Do you go to that person and warn them that they have prophesied falsely? Is there any real accountability for those who speak falsely in God’s name?

How exactly do you test their “words from the Lord”? Is your testing subjective or objective? What is the actual standard being used? What is the biblical standard for those who speak in God’s name what He has not said? Do you simply let it pass when God’s name is blasphemed? Do you care more about offending someone you believe to be a brother or sister in Christ, or about the holiness of God’s name? Do you care for the soul of the one who has spoken falsely? Do you call them to true repentance in which they admit they did not hear from God and commit to no longer speaking in His name apart from His Word rightly handled?

Or do you avoid what you consider extreme measures and instead follow a standard shaped more by your own heart than by Scripture? How is that honoring God, and how is that loving the one who has spoken falsely in His name? If you say you love God, why excuse false prophecies, hold no one accountable, and fail to warn the body while false words multiply in God’s name? Have you no fear of God? Do you truly believe His name is holy while remaining comfortable as it is treated lightly among you and Christ’s bride is continually subjected to many who claim to receive new words from Him? Do you excuse it thinking that the good must outweigh the bad? Is that how scripture treats prophecy?

Do you not see that there are real consequences both now and in eternity? Why ignore it, and why be complicit in it? If you love the brethren, why not hold prophecy to the same standard Scripture does, and would that not serve to purify the church? Is the desire for new words so strong that you are willing to tolerate increasing error spoken in God’s name? Why tolerate intentionally vague prophecies that are designed to be untestable in any objective way and left only to the subjective judgment of the hearer?

They may not use the title prophet, but anyone who claims God has given them a word for others is, by Scripture’s definition, functioning as one. Scripture does not assign a category for someone to claim to hear from God and speak in His name and excuse it when they “miss it,” allowing them to “try again.” God does not speak that way. They have so reduced the holiness of God and His power to that of a god that is trying his best and can’t seem to get good connection and that’s why these lying prophets “miss it” sometimes. It’s not their fault. They just had bad connection with God and they’ll work harder to get better connection next time. Scripture knows only of true and false prophets. We are commanded to test them and to hold them accountable for every word spoken in God’s name, so why do you not? Can you name one false prophet today? Jesus said there would be many, and there are many, yet you cannot name one. Why is that? He has not failed to give you what you need to test them. You have been trained to believe it is wrong to call someone a false prophet and to excuse it when someone gets it wrong. Your mind and heart have been taught and led not by scripture but liars and deceivers have conditioned you to tolerate and even defend many blaspheming God’s name with great regularity. Does it concern you that you have put up with such things?

His name is holy and He loves His bride. Do you believe that? Then why not hold accountable every person who dares to speak words in God’s name that He has not spoken? It would silence many voices in today’s churches, and that is what love and obedience to God would look like. Yet many will not do this because they fear testing and they fear the consequences of actually holding people accountable. They prefer that the “prophetic” continue even if it is “messy” and even when people are hurt. When people are hurt, the blame is shifted to the hearer who is told they should have tested it, and the one who spoke falsely is quietly absolved of responsibility. You excuse and defend it, but God will not.

It is not merely messy or missing it. There are many false prophets and many churches lay the foundation for them. Others tolerate them enough although they don’t platform them or give them a microphone. Few are the faithful who hold firm to the sufficiency of scripture and test all things by the Word of God.

Where do you stand?