Prophecy

Prophecy Page...

Prophecy….

I. General Prophecy

A. Be a Fruit Inspector, not a gift inspector.

B. Are there Love, Joy, Peace, Mercy and Grace in the Prophet’s life?

C. Look for true humility and a quick repentant heart.

D. Be a God pleaser not a man pleaser.

E. Make sure you do not set a man or man’s gifting above God. (Idol)

F. Prophecy will always be confirmed.

G. Prophecy will always confirm what you already know in your spirit.

H. Always take your prophecy to God and ask Him to confirm what has been spoken.

I. Do not take action until you seek confirmation from the Lord by two or more independent witnesses. (God’s Prophets or Messengers)

J. The Prophet speaks in the authority of God and at the same time, with God’s Love.

K. Some prophecy is corrective and could address a “Word in Due Season” which is a “Now” word. There are “Due Season” Prophets who only speak a now word of God.

L. Prophecy can encompass the past, the present or the future.

M. Soon can mean one to three years before a word comes to pass.

N. Suddenly can mean several or many years before a word comes to pass.

O. Do not get discouraged because a prophetic word has not come to pass.

1. Have you contended for your word?

2. Has your word been confirmed?

3. Have you “Declared and Decreed” your word to come forth.

4. Have you stood in faith over your word?

II.Prophecy in Action

A. Schools of Prophets are a good place to receive and begin prophetic training.

B. The Office of the Prophet will reproduce; one cannot reproduce what they do not have.

C. An Office of the Prophet is put in office by God only and will be a “Gift” to the church and the body of Christ.

D. Prophets will set rules and guidelines in order that while you are being schooled you can operate in safety and be safe.

E. A Prophet is not always a Seer but a Seer is always a Prophet.

F. There are many types of Prophets and Prophecy.

G. A Prophet can give a Corporate Word of Prophecy, as well as an individual prophecy.

H. A Prophet will prophecy the past, the present or the future.

I. A Prophet will operate in one of more of the Revelation Gifts.

1. Wisdom (How to know the application and apply it)

2. Knowledge (To know something known only to you)

3. Discernment of Spirits (Between Evil or Good, Right or Wrong)

III.Hearing from God

A. Learn to hear from God yourself

B. Know the Word of God and Know the God of the Word (Balance)

1. Knowing just the word can lead you to a spirit of legalism

2. Knowing by spirit only can lead you to a fantastic spirit

3. God leads in “Spirit” and in “Truth”

C. Ask for God’s discernment to discern good from evil

D. Be still and know He is God.

E. Remember the Prophet speaks in the authority of God, but will always be in His Love

IV.Contending for God’s Word

A. The first thing the enemy does after a prophecy is to try to bring doubt and unbelief.

B. Be careful who you share your prophecy with.

1. Many so called friends could become jealous and try to take away or play down the prophetic word given. (Discredit)

2. Many people do not believe in prophecy. (Doubt)

3. The enemy is a roaring lion looking for who and what he can devour. (Destroy)

4. Those not qualified to interpret God’s word, can interpret it incorrectly.

C. Seek qualified leaders to help bring clarity to God’s Word, if clarity is needed.

D. Declare and Decree the Prophetic Word to come forth.

E. Ask God to protect the prophetic Word and to bring it to full fruition

F. Stand in Faith, believing that what God said He would do, He will indeed do.

V.Beware the False Prophet and False Prophecy

A. Do not be quick to swallow “Hook, Line and Sinker” every prophetic word spoken.

B. Test the spirits, be a fruit inspector, not a gift inspector.

C. False Prophets prey upon weak areas apparent in a person’s life, they read body language, follow eye contact and can ask a lot of questions to probe for what they consider a prophetic lead or otherwise as a hook.

1. Like to read body language and use what you say. (The external)

2. Some False Prophets use “Witchcraft” to “Spiritually Manipulate” a person.

3. Be Cautious on Prophets who easily throw around dates, personal names, what people look like, their ages and so forth.

D. Do not chase prophetic words, as God desires you to come to a place of maturity to hear from Him and to follow His leading.

E. Do not put prophetic people on pedestals (idol) as man will always let you down, but God will never leave you nor forsake you.

F. Some people are puffed up in knowledge of the scriptures and memory of the verses. God usually tells a prophetic person to speak it forth and then He will show them where it is in the Word. Yet, God does speak through the scriptures. Beware those who walk in a Pharisee Spirit. There is a balance between Spirit and Truth.

G. Beware any Prophet who makes sure everyone knows who they are. Spirit of Pride and Error can be operating.

H. A true Prophet of God will be about building God’s Kingdom and not their own.

I. We are a many member(ed) body of Christ. It takes all the legs, arms, eyes and ears to create a working body that God can come lay His head on. We are to walk in unity, in one accord and in His benevolent love towards one another. Holding another person’s gifting in higher esteem than our own. (True Humility)

J. We answer to God first and foremost.

(False Prophets and Prophecy are on the rise in today’s world. These so-called and man-made Prophets of God and Jezebels) who prey upon man’s vulnerability and weaknesses, by tickling your ears to hook you (seduce you) or to spiritually manipulate you (control you) for their own personal gain.

Remember, that a little bit of arsenic in a glass of water, even .01% is still poisonous to drink. Spiritual manipulation and witchcraft is not always someone putting a spell or curse on you. Beware the False Prophet who will speak words of seduction to (tickle your ears) that are not from God, to get you to receive those words “As From God”, so that you will speak life to those words and set in motion something that is contrary to God’s will for you. They will take you down a path that will become a “Dead End”, a “Dark Pit” or down a road that will keep you longer than you want to stay. Do not be so quick to swallow, “Hook, Line and Sinker” a prophetic word as God’s. Test the spirits. Ask God for a confirmation for the prophetic words spoken. God will always confirm His word. You should never allow someone to bully, push you to do anything that does not agree with your spirit and align up with God’s word. And you should never allow someone to seduce, coerce or manipulate you into giving into a ministry through guilt or intimidation.

Rule of thumb: God leads, Satan pushes. People will tell you just about anything to get you to come to their ministry, pay into their ministry, try to spiritually manipulate you for their gain, use you for their pawn, abuse your gifting and calling, we must all beware of the False Prophet/Jezebel Spirit by being led by the Holy Spirit instead of be driven by a person, ministry or spirit that is about their own Kingdom, instead of the building of the Kingdom of God. A true prophet of God does not have to promote themselves. When God is ready for a person to operate in the “Office of the Prophet” God will orchestrate the office, first by recognition by the people and then by the Five Fold Ministry. God is the one who appoints, anoints and activates the call upon a person’s life, not man)

By Patti Finney Compton – Know Name Ministry – because “He Knows My Name”.

The Prophets: Holy Men of God

Men who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit

The great men of the Old Testament were not the kings or the priests, but the prophets because they were always calling the people to repentance and revealing God’s will to man.

When you compare all ancient history and its writings there is nothing which matches Israelite prophecy.

DEFINITION: A prophet is a man who speaks to men on behalf of God the message he has received from God. Prophecy is the declaration and illustration of the principles of the divine government, whether in the past, present, or the future. Prophets were God’s specially called and inspired messengers. They were "holy men of God who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21).

Ro'eh was a person who was possessed of supernatural vision, insight, and foresight. He was called a "seer."

Chozeh was an authoritative messenger from God, a beholder or seer, who received supernatural vision.

Nabhi was one who spoke for God. He speaks from an inner compulsion of the Spirit of God the message he has received.

NAMES: The prophets are called by various names including: "Man of God," "Servant of Jehovah (LORD)," "Messenger of Jehovah," "Interpreter," "Sentinel," "The Man of the Spirit."

HOLY SPIRIT'S INFLUENCE ON PROPHETS: The Holy Spirit breathing into the mind of the prophet so illumined his spirit and pervaded his thoughts, that while nothing as a person was taken away, yet everything that was necessary to enable him to declare divine truth in all its fullness was bestowed on him. Their inspiration consisted in the fullness of the influence of the Holy Spirit enabling them to accomplish their work.

The control and guidance by the Holy Spirit in the expression of the message guarantees the expression of truth without error.

TASK OF THE PROPHET: His job was to call the people back to God and to the truth of God. It involved warning them of the consequences of their actions and a call to repentance. At times it was a message of God's plan for the future of His Kingdom. They were men through whom God spoke His message of love for sinners, and warned them of the consequences of their sins. The heart of their message was God's promise of eternal redemption through the coming of Jesus Christ the Messiah.

PREPARATION: God prepared each of these men for their special task. There were also "schools" of the prophets in Ramah (1 Samuel 19:18), Bethel (2 Kings 2:3), Jericho (2 Kings 2:5), and Gilgal (2 Kings 4:38).

FALSE PROPHETS: The test of the prophet was practical and simple. "When the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord has truly sent him" (Jeremiah 28:9). The term does not occur in the Old Testament. It is found on the lips of Jesus (Matt. 7:15-23; Mk.13:21-23; Jer. 14:13-18; 28; 1 Kings 22:5-28). Things that are most highly valued are most subject to counterfeiting. True prophecy has in it no contradictions. It must always agree in genuine way with what is already known about Yahweh. Satan is the counterfeiter.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROPHETS:

1. They were sent from God. These men claimed to be speaking from God and for God. "Thus says the Lord" was a clear emphasis of their preaching. The content of their message is proof that they were inspired of the Lord.

2. Their message was related to history. It grew out of some historic situation in which they lived. The prophets were messengers of their times. The message can only be understood by seeing it in its original setting. You have to become a student of history to understand Old Testament prophecy.

3. God's revelation is progressive. Each message builds upon other revealed truth from God.

4. Prophecy is not always predictive. It is a mistake to think that Old Testament prophecy was always predictive or foretelling of the future. There were times when the prophet spoke only to his own generation without any special reference to the future. He called his generation to repentance or to a social change within the nation or political changes. They warned the nation and its leaders of wrongs that needed to be corrected. They were primarily messengers of God, whether they spoke of the past, the present, or the future.

5. There were absolute predictions of the future. These predictions reveal God's purposes of grace to men. They are dependent upon the sovereign purpose of God, and they are certain of fulfillment. A good example is Genesis 3:15, which is not dependent upon, man, but solely upon God. Galatians 4:4-5 shows its fulfillment.

6. There were conditional predictions, which directly bear upon men’s responsibility for a proper human response to secure fulfillment. A good example is Jonah's prediction that Nineveh would be destroyed in forty days.

7. Correct interpretation of prophecy includes the recognition of both literal and figurative language freely intermingled. Genesis 3:15 is a figurative way of picturing the conflict between Christ and Satan.

8. All prophecy is centered in Christ. It is a testimony of Jesus Christ. He is at the center of prophecy because He is the central theme of all the Scriptures. No one, or anything can share that center stage with Him. Bring every prophecy to Christ in order to see it in its true light.

9. Interpret Old Testament prophecy in the light of the New Testament. We find the key to the interpretation of Old Testament prophecy by examining how New Testament writers interpreted the prophets. The explanation of the Old Testament in the New Testament is the very point from which alone all explanation that listens to the voice of the divine wisdom must set out. This way we understand the sense of the Holy Scriptures as understood by inspired men themselves, and are furnished with the true key to knowledge. We discover from the New Testament writers the correct principles of interpreting the Old Testament prophecies. Probably we should see much more in the prophetic messages than we at first observed.

10. The interpretation of prophecy should generally be in the literal and natural meaning of the words. Seek the plain teaching of the passage. The fulfillment of predictions made by the prophets is to be thought of as literal and not allegorical. Many predictions may be given to us in figurative language, and we may or may not understand them, but when the day comes for fulfillment it is to be thought of as literal.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE PROPHETS: Prophets of the Old Testament are usually grouped as writing and oral prophets. Within these two groupings is another classification based on size, and not on content, or on quality of inspiration. Four of the prophetic books were longer in content and therefore called “major prophets.” It does not mean the “major prophets” were more important or significant in subject matter than the “minor prophets.” The “minor prophets” simply signify shorter books and nothing more.

MAJOR WRITING PROPHETS: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

MINOR WRITING PROPHETS: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

THE ORAL PROPHETS:

1. Enoch (Jude 14-15)

2. Noah (II Pet. 2:5)

3. Abraham and the Patriarchs (Gen.20:7; 27:27-29; 49

4. Moses (Deut. 18:18-22; 34:10-12.

5. Miriam and Aaron (Ex. 15:20; Num. 12:1-8

6. The Seventy (Num. 11:24-29)

7. Balaam (Num. 22-24)

8. Joshua (Josh. 1, 23, 24)

9. Deborah (Jud. 4-5)

10. Unknown prophet in days of Gideon (Jud. 6:7-10)

11. Unknown prophet in days of Eli (I Sam. 2:27-36)

12. Samuel (I Sam. 3:20)

13. Schools of prophets under Samuel (Saul) (I Sam. 10:10-12; 19:20-24)

14. Gad (I Sam. 22:5; II Sam. 24:11-19; I Chron. 29:29; II Chron. 29:25)

15. Nathan (II Sam. 7, 12; II Chron. 9:29; 29:25)

16. David (Acts 2:30)

17. Ahijah (I Kings 11:26-40; 14:1-18)

18. Man of God from Judah (I Kings 13)

19. Shemaiah (I Kings 12:21-24; II Chron. 12:1-8)

20. Iddo the Seer (II Chron. 12:15; 13:22)

21. Azariah (II Chron. 15)

22. Hanani (II Chron. 16:7-10

23. Jehu son of Hanani (II Chron. 19:1-3)

24. Elijah (I Kings 17-II Kings 2)

25. Micaiah (I Kings 22)

26. Unknown prophet encouraged Ahab (I Kings 20:13-15)

27. Unknown prophet rebuked Ahab (I Kings 20:35-43).

28. Jahaziel (II Chron. 20:14-17)

29. Eliezer (II Chron. 20:37)

30. Elisha (II Kings 2-8)

31. Prophetic School of Elisha (II Kings 9:1-13)

32. Zechariah son of Jehoiada (II Chron. 24:20-22)

33. Man of God forbade Amaziah's league with Israel (II Chron. 25:7-10)

34. Unknown prophet rebuked Amaziah (II Chron. 25:15)

35. Zechariah (II Chron. 26:5)

36. Oded (II Chron. 28:8-15)

37. Huldah the prophetess (II Kings 22:12-20)

38. Urijah (Jer. 26:20-23)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________