Many terms are used to designate prophets and describe their roles and functions. Scriptures clearly reveal that there are true prophets of God as well as false prophets. A good example is found in 1 Kings chapter eighteen, when Jezebel sought to destroy God’s prophets and Obadiah hid some in a cave to protect and care for them. Elijah confronted Ahab and sent for the false prophets of Baal. God’s fire consumed his offering to prove that He is the only one true God and those false prophets were slain.

The motivation of prophets is the issue. We need to determine if they draw people To God or turn them Away from God. False prophets were not false because of any signs and wonders they may have produced and sometimes did—but because they turned men in the opposite direction. For detailed analysis see Deuteronomy 13.

People needed to know the genuine, but they did not have the things we have now to determine the truth. We have the full revelation of God in all of the scriptures now, whereas they did not and we have the Holy Spirit’s ministry today to guide us, lead us and teach us all the truth as Jesus said in John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26 and 16:7-15.

When we remove the Holy Spirit from our midst in our churches and personal lives and do not check everything we see and hear against the revelation in scripture, we lack the ability to determine the real from the counterfeit.
Just because someone stands behind a pulpit and says something, does not mean that person is genuine.
There are many people in ministry today who just should not be there. They may love the Lord and say that they want to win the lost, but do not necessarily meet God’s selection criteria to hold office. Check them out.

Sometimes, God will send a prophet on an assignment to lift the lid off things and this can be very challenging and threatening to certain self-appointed folk. Many such pastors do not like real prophets for those reasons.

This gives an indication of the importance of proper recognition of prophets. That is, prophets of God, not pretenders.

He chose His prophets. Man did not, but man recognized their calling.

Prophets are often associated with their location, such as the city where they ministered (e.g. Jerusalem) or to a nation such as Israel.
They were regarded as God’s servant or as a man of God.  A servant’s goal was to accomplish the tasks assigned by his master and humility was a common trait. False prophets tend to be attention getters, bombastic and egotistical by comparison.

Scriptures also reveal the personal claim of God on a prophet by calling him His servant...the prophet, or My servants the prophets.
The term Man of God was a title of honor bestowed on a few prophets only. They had an especially close relationship to God and exercised a particularly strong prophetic gift. Moses and Samuel are two.

One characteristic of God’s prophets seems to be that they rarely, if ever, called themselves by a title as is common today.
Moses did not seem to call himself, “The prophet Moses”. Unfortunately there are  parts of the church today where men and women seem to take it upon themselves to use such titles and often demand it of others.

Whilst we are to give honor to whom such honor is due and should recognize a genuine ministry gift, on many occasions it seems that the rank and file members of a church are often brainwashed or forced into using terms like  “pastor so-and-so” etc. This borders on the areas of idolatry and witchcraft. Domination, manipulation and control are characteristics.

If God did not choose, equip and ordain that person to the position, it is man-made and so the fruit should speak for itself.

We can see this principle on their business cards or web sites and it seems that they almost demand to be revered that way. The same things often applies to people who take it upon themselves to be called apostle, or bishop so-and-so. If you are uncertain if a certain person is a genuine prophet or a false prophet, look at the tags and titles and at the fruit.

Genuine men and women of God rarely use them.

The first appearance of the word prophet is seen in Genesis 20:7 when God told Abimelech to restore Sarah to Abraham, saying that he was a prophet. He told Abimelech that Abraham would pray for him—so that his life would be preserved.

I have found that to be real, like the occasion God gave me words of knowledge about certain serious  life threatening conditions involving two people in that meeting, one of whom when coming for prayer, told me that he had considered taking his own life during the following week. Another person lived 1000 miles away, making three in all. This indicates that the ministries of prophets is much more than “prophesying” or “getting visions” etc. Everyone should do that.

On many occasions folk who “specialize” in things like that are little different to what new age practitioners do and what is seen on stage by hypnotists and magicians.
It’s witchcraft! Familiar spirits can often be operating in such “prophetic meetings”. We really cannot “be prophetic”and “have words” on cue as most of them do. It can be dangerous.

The second appearance is in Exodus 7:1 when God told Moses that Aaron would be his prophet.
We know that Aaron spoke for Moses and this gives us an understanding on who prophets are and what they do.
A prophet or Nābîʾ is basically a spokesman or someone who represents another and speaks on the other person’s behalf. He or she thus announces and proclaims the message given to them.
Prophets are forth-tellers who declare the truth about God and in simple terms are merely passing on what God has shown them.

Another meaning is to bubble up, boil forth, or pour forth when exercising the gift of prophecy according to 1 Corinthians 12:10.
A common misconception is that when one exercises this gift, they are a prophet, but that is wrong.
They are merely exercising a gift, whereas a prophet is an office or a ministry gift as seen in Ephesians 4.

Prophets can and usually do prophesy, so they can exercise this gift and also function in their office as a prophet.

Moses had an insight into the importance of prophets. It would seem that, from what he said, God would like all of His people to be prophetic. It is amazing that if this was on God’s heart, why are genuine prophets so ignored, despised and rejected? In Numbers 11, God told Moses to choose seventy men of the elders of Israel. We see here that God “transferred the anointing” on Moses onto them. An anointing can be passed on, but in so doing, it does not diminish the original anointing. When this happened they began prophesying and did not cease! This does not mean that they kept talking incessantly. The Hebrew word used is Yāsap that means add, increase and to do again.

In other words, they could prophecy at any time afterwards (under the anointing), so it was not a once-off event.
Joshua, who was Moses’ servant (servants can become good leaders) had to yet learn some things and wanted Moses to stop Eldad and Medad, because they were “not prophesying in the church”! Moses expressed a wish that all of God’s people could and would prophesy.

And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.  And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.  And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!  And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel. Numbers 11:24-30

Paul told us not to forbid prophesying, but in so doing he added more good advice-

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings.
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

Please note that Paul did not tell us to give thanks “for” every thing, but “in” everything!

Some things may happen to us that definitely did not come from God, so why thank the devil for his junk? Paul also told us to prove everything, or put it all to the test and if it does not measure up to the standards of Christ, we should get rid of it.

This has to include pseudo Christianity and the church is riddled with it! If you do not believe me, visit any church you like and put them to the test! You could be shocked at the result!

Paul told us to flee certain things, some of which we see in 1 Corinthians 6:18, 10:14; Ephesians 5:3; 1 Timothy 6:11 and 2 timothy 2:22. We do not have to be a rocket scientist or a “theologian” to misunderstand that. Some people get fruitloopy or super-spiritual over things. If it says to run from it—then run from it; leave it alone; dont touch; avoid it!

In 1 Samuel 10, when Saul was anointed to be king of Israel. We see in verse nine, that a company of (unnamed) prophets met him and he too started prophesying. We know of Saul’s demise, so this illustrates that a prophet is not infallible. Although he or she is a spokesman for God, the human element remains and we need to discern their activities and lifestyles and weigh them up in the light of scripture.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:30 that the prophets can each minister individually or exercise the gift of prophecy, whilst the others can judge, or assess what they say. If their words were infallible, we could not judge them. From the account in first Kings 17-18 as touched on before, God had a minimum of at least 100 prophets and that many of His other prophets had been slain by Jezebel. The devil hates God’s prophets and will do all he can to either destroy them and if not, discredit them, or get men to ignore them. The reason is simple. They are His mouthpieces. Many people, especially religious people, do not like being faced up with the truth and being challenged. Prophets do that.

When it was time for Elijah to go, his servant Elisha stayed with him, wanting his anointing to be transferred onto him.

He was already chosen and anointed, but desired Elijah’s mantle also. We see this in  2 Kings 2 and we also see that 50 others (described as sons of the prophets) were there. There is amazing information to be gleaned in this.

A good question to ask is why God chooses and uses prophets.

Perhaps we should go back to the very beginning, to Genesis where we see that God created everything. We know that He has a purpose that means that He created prophets also for a purpose and that purpose has never changed. He has not changed and never will. I have said it before, but prophets are his mouthpiece because they declare His mind and will. Amos 3:7 states-

Certainly the sovereign LORD does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

It is as if God takes them into His confidence, announcing His intentions and this is consistent with the word of Jesus in John 15:15 when He called us His friends. Although prophets serve God, they are also God’s friends.

In Isaiah 41:8, God called Abraham His friend and we know from Genesis 18:17 that God took His friend into His confidence, telling him what He intended doing. Servants do not have this privilege, therefore if someone is a genuine prophet, it is possible that God will share what is on His heart and mind as He did with Abraham. I hasten to add that it is always at the prerogative of God. No one can really preempt a thing. If God says nothing, a real prophet says nothing, but if God sends that prophet on an assignment it is a totally different matter.

To not discharge his or her duty on that assignment, the prophet is essentially disobedient. Jesus was of course a prophet and we know that He never said anything until He first heard the Father say it and that He never acted out of His own volition, but did what He saw the Father do. He was totally obedient to the will of the Father!  Why can’t we? Amos also stated-

A lion has roared![10] Who is not afraid? The sovereign LORD has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy? Amos 3:8

If Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and roars, who then can refuse to both prophesy and to listen?

When Jesus came, a whole new era arrived. Men could only approach God through sacrifice and this often entailed much prior preparation and a certain amount of trepidation. No one could enter God’s presence with the confidence we can and God was to a certain degree shrouded in mystery and unreachable. The Ark of His presence remained behind the Vail and only one man could pass beyond it to stand before God. He was of course the High Priest, but as we know from various accounts in Hebrews etc., that Jesus was our Great High Priest. He called various people to follow Him and they were a motley bunch—misfits, quick tempered, educated, illiterate, outcasts, religious people and the like. They represented people found everywhere and we are all in this group somewhere.

In Luke 6:13 Jesus called disciples to Himself and some of them He named apostles.
It seems therefore that there were disciples that were not appointed to be apostles. We know that He had more than twelve disciples because in Luke 10, He appointed an additional 70. By definition, they may also may have been apostles because an apostle is a sent one according to the Greek words Apostellō and Apostolos or those who have been set apart and sent out on a mission.
Paul stated that more than 500 brethren saw Jesus after His resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:6. 

That, if for no other reason, tells us that no man can assume any office by himself. Nevertheless, people do and it muddies up the water big time. No one can really choose and appoint anyone else to be anything and certainly not a prophet.

He must be divinely chosen and appointed to the role. Men are to recognize that calling and acknowledge it.

Ordination really comes from above, therefore when a person is ordained into the ministry, it should be a confirmation or acknowledgment of divine selection. 
In Acts, the apostles appointed others—but only after seeking the mind of God on the matter.

We have seen that Abraham was called God’s friend! It is really amazing to realize that a human being could be given this privilege, but what qualifies a person to be called God’s friend! Was it because he believed God, or was it because he obeyed God—and offered Isaac on the altar—on the basis of that belief? If Abraham’s actions alone earned him friendship status, then it was achieved merely by works and we know that good works do not really bribe God at all. It is all of grace. Paul spoke of Abraham in Romans 4:16, saying-

it is of faith, so that it may be through grace; and so that the word of God may be certain to all the seed; not only to that which is of the law, but to that which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

Abraham took God at His word—and acted on it. God had however first taken the initiative and spoken to the man and the man responded. That is both obedience and faith.  As I ponder these things more, it seems to me that what gives us grace and favor with God, starts with His goodness and His overtures, to which we respond. We have the power of choice. It does not matter what background we have—what education we receive; our family tree; whether we come from a poor background or have a rich uncle somewhere who left us an inheritance. What counts is our openness and responsiveness by faith to God. He does not have favorites and is no respecter of persons, but He does respect our response to Him and His word. Webster’s Dictionary defines a friend as-

...one attached to another by affection or esteem, acquaintance, one that is not hostile, one that is of the same nation, party, or group, one that favors or promotes something, a favored companion and someone to love.

Please look carefully at Jesus’ words-

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. John 15:9-17.

Friends are committed to each other and the ingredient of love is powerful.
They share intimate secrets that are not shared with anyone else.
What is very significant of this fact is that God shares much more with us than many folk realize!
This is part of the role of a prophet. It is as if prophets have a kind of empathy with God; feel His heart, sense His hurt (we can hurt Him you know) and something many people do not want to acknowledge—feel His anger!
Many Christians are sloppy sentimental dreamers, who think love, love, love, but we can indeed anger Him and that is not a good place to be in. They also forget that if He does love us, He also chastens us! Read Hebrews 4.

If God called Abraham His friend, there was a such a close relationship with each other that God shared some of His heart and His plan some of with him.
If God does not change  according to Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8 and His word abides forever (see Psalm 119:160 and 1 Peter 1:25) it is logical that He still shares things with His prophets.

He hasn’t changed His mind. The method of revealing things may be slightly different, but the message and the intent is still the same.
The way God’s word comes to us might differ, but the messages are the same.
They were once engraved on tablets of stone, written by hand on parchment and papyri. Gutenberg invented the printing press and we received printed bibles and now the electronic media adds to the list of how God speaks to us—but He still speaks and He still uses men! He started speaking to us in the Garden—and has not stopped speaking!

Abraham was 99 years old when God spoke to him, issuing instructions to circumcise the males. He changed his name from Abram to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah, stating that she would have a child who would be Abraham’s heir.

We see this in Genesis 17.

Later God appeared to Abraham on this wise-And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.
He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on— since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.”
And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.”
And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly.
Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
Genesis 18:1-8.

Abraham recognized his visitors, welcomed them as friends and showed kindness and hospitality that they accepted. They waited for the preparations to be completed. Did you realize that God sometimes has to wait for you?

Abraham set the meal before them and stood by respectfully apart, yet close enough to continue serving them. It is a strange thing to be extended this honor. I have been treated like that, when as the honored guest, the hosts prepared food for me first, then for my companions and they waited on us. They never ate until after I left!

I did not ask for that to happen and at first it embarrasssed me until I realized that my refusal would offend them.

This is a trait of a prophet! They really do not make demands. If we cannot be prepared to serve, then we cannot expect to be promoted! Jesus is our prime example. When they had finished their meal and delivered their message, they stood up and looked towards their destination which was Sodom and Abraham saw them off in the way we would farewell guests by taking them to the door of our home-

Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way.
The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do… ? Genesis 18:16-18.

This was a very important and serious mission, but the relationship was so strong, that God took the man into His confidence. I believe He could do this, because He could trust the man and this is very important.

God can trust real prophets. He can and does take them into His confidence and this may perhaps be one reason why others, especially religious folk, do not want them around. If they are “went ones” and not “sent ones”, they do not have the same motivation, same anointing, and especially the same source of revelation that genuine prophets do.

I am not saying that folk like that do not love the Lord, but that they cannot see things the way prophets do and cannot handle it when a real prophet comes. Some time later, God asked Abraham to take his son to Mount Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice.
This is interesting because this seems to be the site in Jerusalem where Solomon built the temple (2 Chronicles 3:1).
It also seems to be the same place where the Lord had appeared to David, who had been asked to build an altar there on the threshing floor of Arauna the Jebusite (2 Samuel 24:18) and Ornan (2 Chronicles 3:1).
Today,  Mt. Moriah is the temple plateau, where two Muslim shrines, the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock and a section of the western side of the retaining wall of the Temple Mount known as The Wailing Wall are located.

Being a prophet thus takes on much more significance that is often seen, but who then is a prophet?

What is he or she like? What do they do now?

We saw earlier that the first time that the word Prophet is seen in scripture is found in Genesis 22:7 when God spoke to Abimelech in a dream. We are spirit beings who possess a soul and live in a body therefore God can and does speak to everyone. A pastor acquaintance debated this issue but could not answer when I asked him how the Holy Spirit can convict a sinner of sin and be converted if God does not talk to anyone and everyone!

The difference is in the listening. The results are in the listening—and the obeying.
He told Abimelech to restore the man his wife—because he was a prophet and God’s friend. This incident was associated with dreams and visions. They, together with  prayer and healing, are always associated with the supernatural of God. Every time we see stories of prophets in scripture, things out of the normal are associated with them. The miracles of Elijah and Elisha come to mind. A prophet therefore is a miracle worker, amongst other things. We see here that the word prophet is the Hebrew word Nābîʾ and it relates to someone who speaks or prophesies under divine inspiration.
A prophet or prophetess as I have said, is God’s mouthpiece, speaking on behalf of God and declares the mind and will of God in a given matter.

One of the characteristics of a prophet is that he brings revelation and this is something often misunderstood and as a result, is often looked upon with some suspicion. There is good reason, as there are many “voices” all clamoring for our attention. Some are strange to say the least and this can lead to discarding everything, but that knee-jerk reaction can cut a believer off from a valid input from God into their life. John said-

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 1 John 4:1-6

We can see from this that prophets still existed in the New Testament, many of whom specifically named in Acts 11:27, 13:1, 15:32, 21:10; Titus 1:12 and even false prophets in Acts 13:6 and 2 Peter 2:1. James 5:10 could also refer to New Testament prophets. Paul spoke of prophets in 1 Corinthians 12:28-29, 14:29-32 and Ephesians 4:11.

Paul said something very interesting to the Church at Thessalonica, saying-

For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: 1 Thessalonians 2:13-15

Who are the prophets Paul spoke of, when he said that the religious Jews killed Jesus and their own prophets and persecuted him and his companions? I wonder if they were not only the prophets of the Old Testament, but prophets in that moment in time. It is conjecture perhaps, but is food for thought.

Paul spoke about the mystery that had been hidden in previous times in Ephesians, saying that God has now revealed them to us, the Church and that prophets were involved. The Old Testament prophets never understood what had been previously hidden. See 1 Peter 1:10.

For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:  How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; Ephesians 3:1-5

Evidently, prophets are still with us, despite the assertions of some and even some of those who do believe this, have misconceptions. A prevalent error is confusing the ministry gift of the person with the vocal Gift of the Spirit.

The Hebrew word describes prophesying as a bubbling up or a boiling over. I liken it to those effervescent drinking salts that froth up and bubble up when mixed with water. This latter description is an apt description of someone exercising the Gift of Prophecy as seen in 1 Corinthians 12. In this instance, it is completely different to someone who is a prophet. Some people mistakenly have the opinion that they are prophets when they prophesy! No! They are different, because one is the Gift whereas the other is an Office (seen in Ephesians 4).

People are concerned about whether someone is a true or a false prophet and rightly so, but how does one make the distinction? Jeremiah 23:16-18 talks of this, but the chapter opens with a statement concerning shepherds (pastors)! Verses 1-8 are powerful.
So also is Ezekiel 34.

God is a very jealous and possessive God.

Because of the very nature of bringing forth such revelation, it cannot be manufactured and turned on at will!
It is as the Holy Spirit wills and always at His prerogative!
There are “prophetic” movements that suggest that we can do this at any time we want.
Some groups conduct regular meetings and publish prophetic lists regularly and it is evident that most of them do so for profit! One person I know “gives a word” daily and it has been found that, by checking their calendar of publications, these “words” were repeated on an annual basis, like a well rehearsed repertoire.

Another well known person visits churches and conducts seminars and training sessions, teaching the prophetic.

A common approach is to get people to pair up and “see things” that they share with each other. I personally know this person and have attended several of the meetings that generally seem “OK”, but I have serious misgivings.

One reason is that people always expect to receive “prophetic words”.

Although they sound great and often say something nice (usually what folk want to hear anyhow), the impression is that the initiative of the Holy Spirit does not seem to be considered.

If you look at Paul’s teachings in 1 Corinthians 12 to 14 on this, he stated that the Holy Spirit divides severally to each man—as He will.

Jesus never said a thing if the Father never spoke.

He never did anything unless the Father authorized it.
If the Holy Spirit does not speak, no one should speak, but some of these people always have something to say and the words used more often than not, do not bring correction, counsel and advice, but something that tickles itching ears!

The risk that the uneducated face with such things is that such practices border on the occult, when”familiar spirits” can pass on information that could be factual and is mistakenly attributed to God.

This is one reason why the gift of discerning of spirits as seen in 1 Corinthians 12:10 is necessary.

We can see an example in Acts 16:16 onwards when a woman with a spirit of divination was actually telling the truth about Paul and he had to deal with it.
If you encounter such things and it does not “sit right”...it usually isn’t!
All that I am saying about such folk is to check them out. Check it out!

Prophets come to reveal things! A prophet is one who spends much time with God. They listen to His voice, receive His counsel and go out to deliver it—regardless of whether it is popular or not and so a real prophet is not always popular.

A false prophet appeals to vanity. They will puff you up and have “bless-me-club” approaches, often to each other and usually say what others expect to be said.

I know a pastor who prays for people to be healed in public but speaks against it in private. His wife told my wife, “Why don’t they just let her die?” when a woman with cancer asked me for prayer. I had been on the platform at Benny Hinn meetings and an anointing was on me. She asked me to pray for her and she was healed—of that particular cancer.

He states that if so-and-so does not get a miracle they will die (which is true in the natural) and many have died. He later “prayed” for her afterwards and she died! What happened? I wonder if it is because his words are like pronouncing a curse on them. Pastors, including myself have to be careful in what they speak and how they say it.

People fall under the power in his church (because it is expected) and others like his and they often have regular “words” for people, but sickness still reigns supreme.

A person who has a “reputation “ of being a prophet as I just touched on was invited to be guest speaker and  the visitor prophesied over this pastor as expected, saying that he will have a healing ministry and that his church would become big, but it did not line up with his track record and what was already happening. The church was already imploding.
Another man dubbed a prophety who has a very large ministry prophesied that COVID-19 would not last long and that Joe Biden would never become President.
Under Old Testament conditions, if a prophet spoke and it did not come to pass he could be stoned. 

False prophets speak flattering words and often come up with a prophecy as if on cue because it is expected of them. As I have said before, we should speak only as so directed by the Holy Spirit!

What happens aught to be only under His direction. The Holy Spirit divides—as He wills according to 1 Corinthians 12:11 etc.

If He does not speak—we should not speak!
If He does say something, then we can share that; only that—and nothing else!

It is easy to tell the difference between an intellectually prepared message and one that is inspired by the Holy Ghost. I prefer the latter.

Prophecy is not perfect! It comes through human vessels.

It is an imperfect gift because imperfect man is involved.

Prophecy, particularly predictive prophecy is often incomplete, being a part of a much greater overall picture. Sometimes all the details are omitted by God as He often gives an overview or précis of the full plan. We see in part and prophesy in part.

Having said that, God does reveal His plans to His servants the prophets as we saw in Amos 3 earlier.

The prophetic ministry is thus very important.

Prophets are demonstrative:
They may act strangely or seem to act out or demonstrate what God has given them. What seems to be weird behavior on the part of a prophet could be a valid expression and not the action of someone who has just fallen out of his tree. Ezekiel was told to do some very strange things, like eating a roll and making a model of Jerusalem. God also told him to shave his head, weigh his hair, divide it into three portions, burn one third, chop one third with a knife, take a few hairs and bind them in his clothes. That is very weird behavior indeed, but prophets do act strange at times! If Jeremiah had been sitting in a church lately, he may been thrown out because of some weird behavior. He shook and trembled and staggered around like a drunkard (see Jeremiah 23). Drunks stagger, have slurred speech and do act strange. Sometimes they even look funny, so if a real prophet is in your church and is doing what God tells him to do, please do not be too hasty in wanting to stone him!

Prophets are confrontational:
They are sometimes as popular as pork chops in a synagogue because they can be very confrontational and refuse to compromise or conform to traditional ways of doing things. Elijah confronted Ahab and Jezebel. Nathan confronted David because of his affair with Bathsheba. John the Baptist confronted Herod because of his marital arrangements with Herodias. If prophets still tune in to God as before, then it stands to reason that they can and do confront people. God can send them to warn a pastor or a church to get their act together. This is a touchy matter and it is not popular for obvious reasons, with the attitude that we are now in the New Testament, but as I often say, God never changes. If He does not and His word does not and if He chastens those whom He loves, surely He can send a prophet for such an assignment. There are times when such confrontations are done in private, but often times there is a public display. I like the principle of having witnesses. That way, things can be done in a decent manner and not furtively. Back-yard, parking lot prophecies are not on. God will reveal things to His servants the prophets and the day is here when His men will stand before leaders of nations with a divine proclamation. We sure need it!

Proverbs 21:1 says that the kings’ heart is in the hand of the Lord and that He turns it whithersoever He will.

Prophets are saddened by what grieves God:
There is often a kind of zeal involved concerning God’s reputation and the state of the Lord’s Church. I believe that this is the kind of thing motivating Jesus when He reacted to the commercialism that existed in the Temple. You can see the account in John 2 and it is still happening today in the church. Samuel felt saddened when the people asked for a king, feeling that they had rejected God. This is the kind of emotion that prophets feel on God’s behalf.
Modern day prophets feel for the Church. They are grieved when they witness the range of game playing, manipulative, controlling and dominating processes prevalent in many churches. Conversely, they feel saddened to witness the weaknesses and wimpiness often seen. When they see how the Holy Spirit is not welcomed, it cuts then to the quick.

They are zealous for the Church of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God in our midst.

Prophets are people of deep intercession:
Jesus is our role model in everything and He was an intercessor often drawing aside from others to pray. I liken such praying as having a meaningful conversion with God—of sitting together and talking things over so that they can find out what God wants and go about it, or to get a fresh assignment for the occasion, whether it is moment by moment during the day, or for extended periods. I believe this is how Jesus prayed. He never acted independently. I think that He rarely prayed with His disciples because they had to ask Him to teach them. I rarely attend church prayer meetings now for several reasons. I once held all night prayer meetings, fourth watch (4am) prayer meetings and mid week prayer meetings until the Lord told me to stop it.
The problem is that we can permit prayer meetings to become a religious habit or a tradition. We should be in constant communication with God, not on an occasional prayer meeting. Paul said that we can pray without ceasing in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Organized meetings usually devolve down to creating a wish list and asking God to bless our programs. Jesus knew that the Father always heard Him...always. He can hear us at the dinner table, in the bathroom, driving to work, doing the shopping, bathing the kids or anything else pertaining to life. If we are praying according to His mind and will—He always hears us; the first time! We’ve gotten into a religious rut, thinking we are doing great, but in essence deceiving ourselves. Religious folk do not like to hear the things I am saying. Jesus talked of prayer like this-

Whenever you pray, be sincere and not like the pretenders who love the attention they receive while praying before others in the meetings and on street corners. Believe me, they’ve already received in full their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your innermost chamber and be alone with Father God, praying to him in secret. And your Father, who sees all you do, will reward you openly. When you pray, there is no need to repeat empty phrases, praying like those who don’t know God, for they expect God to hear them because of their many words. There is no need to imitate them, since your Father already knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:5-8

What we call the Lord’s prayer that follows next is not prayer, but that’s another story. When prophets are in prayer mode, they seem to drift off and get into another world. There is a spiritual tugging in them that they just have to commune with God and their praying is not like the usual form of praying. In fact, they prefer to pray alone, one-on-one with God.

It is often intense and sometimes agonizing. Prophets not only talk to God about men but to men about God.
They focus more on the things of God and His plans—the Church and the ministry than on getting their needs met.

Moses interceded in Exodus 32:7-42. Whilst he was on the mount with God, the people made the golden calf. He  broke the tablets on which God had written The Law, burned the calf, ground it to powder and threw the powder onto water, making the people drink it. Apparently this mixture acted like a laxative. I have also heard that when gold dust is thrown onto water like that a red color comes—making it look like blood! After dividing the people into those who followed him and those who did not, Moses interceded. He got right in God’s face to avert serious judgment and made atonement for their sin (not his). 3000 men died that day. He was so serous about this that he was prepared to forsake his very relationship with God. He was prepared to pay any price for the sake of his people.

In Exodus 33:11, God spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend!

When real prophets are aware of the shortcomings in a church, it really affects them. It is as if they have been personally attacked and vilified. It is as if they feel the hurt that the Lord feels.

Prophets have and instill hope:
Many people think that prophets proclaim doom and gloom and are judgmental, but that is not their real objective. They like to instill hope and expectation and want to see everyone blessed and enjoying the things of God for themselves. They are people of faith and  even if they have to give a warning from God, they also paint a bright and rosy picture of a good future. Remember that the Lord chastens those He loves. Prophets promote restoration and a return to God and the ways of God. This was often necessary in the Old Testament and, sad to say, is desperately needed today. I am not referring to the heathen here but to God’s people.
They emphasize things like, “Remember the Covenant”. A classic example is-

Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 2 Chronicles 20:20

It seems that there are times when our prosperity that embraces every aspect of life, depends on how we receive God’s prophets and believe their messages. We could word it to read, “If you believe, it will work for you, but if you do not, things just don’t work out”.
This puts pressure on prophets to ensure that they not only hear right, but pass it on the right way—and at the right time!

Prophets possess humility:
Again, Jesus is our role model. He was a meek and a humble man, but what does it really mean to be meek, mild and humble? Being meek does not mean that you are weak. On the contrary—it takes great strength of character to be meek and humble. The word humble comes from the Latin Humilis that relates to the word humus which means earth. The Greek equivalent is Chthōn meaning earth and Chamai (on the ground). Sometimes a humble person must exercise great strength to stay humble! A humble person is basic and down-to-earth. He is not proud or haughty; arrogant, pretentious, vain, overbearing or assertive. Regardless of their position or status a humble person is not averse to being ranked low in a hierarchy or scale. They are often insignificant and unpretentious, lack signs of pride, aggressiveness, or self-assertiveness. Related words are simple, unobtrusive, unostentatious, unpretentious; acquiescent, compliant, resigned; quiet, subdued, tame and submissive.

They dislike hero worship and avoid trying to justify themselves or prove things. Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist and Paul fit the bill. Jesus remained silent during His trial.

In Numbers 11:24-30, Moses told the people what God said and the Lord came down in a cloud, spoke to him and took some of the anointing on him and placed it on seventy elders. They all prophesied. Two men who were not with them by the names of Eldad and Medad also started to prophesy as the Spirit of the Lord came on them. They weren’t in the group with Moses and Joshua asked Moses to stop them. He was zealous for Moses’ sake, but could have just as well spoken with a party spirit. Moses told him that it was OK and that he wished all of God’s people would prophesy! That was meekness. We need to see more of this today. Many pastors do not want others to start moving in their churches and I suspect it is pure jealousy, envy, fear or pure control. No meekness and humility there!

At the risk of letting things get out of order, they quench the Spirit and Paul told us not to do that!

Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Quench not the Spirit.  Despise not prophesyings.
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22.

They are all linked together!

Jeremiah is a prime example of how prophets, or anyone for that matter, just cannot assume an office or role because they want to. There are many men in the ministry who shouldn’t be there! A well  known minister once said that there are shoe salesmen who should be pastors and pastors who should be shoe salesmen. Many denominations appoint people to be evangelists, prophets or apostles, but we can’t do that! In Ephesians 4, Paul speaks about the five ascension Gift Ministries of the apostle, the prophet, the evangelist, the pastor and the teacher, making it clearly evident that Jesus is the one who appoints. They are gifts! If you look at his letters, you will see that he often describes himself as Paul… called to be an apostle! The Gospel accounts tell us that Jesus chose the twelve, some of whom he called apostles.

Jeremiah never assumed the position. God chose him; called him; ordained him and dispatched him!

Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Jeremiah 1:4-5.

Jeremiah tried to argue, using all sorts of the same feeble excuses we use today as to why he felt that he could not fulfill this calling. He said-

...Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am only a youth. Jeremiah 1:6.

The Lord wouldn’t accept that feeble excuse. Robert’s version is, “Don’t you tell Me you can’t do it! You’ll go where I send you and say what I tell you to say. I have put My words in your mouth”!

Many people wonder if they are called or not, but if God has indeed called you, there is no doubt—you know it!
More than that, you start to act like it. If God calls you to a position, then you start acting like it and live it out.

The characteristics of the calling start to reveal themselves to you and through you and to be honest, should do so automatically as if it were as natural as breathing. Others should have enough sense to recognize it and acknowledge it. You do not have to prove a thing or force issues. Let God manifest it.

Sadly, the church is full of people who occupy positions and God never called them at all. It does not work. It muddies up the waters for everyone and the unchurched people see it and do not want it. It can prevent the genuine ministry from getting off the ground and cheating God’s people from entering into everything that God has for them. A common trap is that someone wants a prophecy over them before they start to act. A prophecy should confirm what you already know.

A call is not responding to a perceived need. If God ever did that, He would never leave places like India! Therefore, if someone purporting to be a prophet tells you to do something or go somewhere, even for the best of causes, do not jump in and do it.

Make sure it is real and make sure it adds up and sits right in your spirit.

Anyone who has the call of God on their life will often find that they are in a war zone and it can take on more than one front.
The devil will fight against it.
Pastors will often fight against prophets because they think that they challenge them and offers of assistance are often rejected, but a real Ministry Gift comes to help them.
Doubt, restrictions on finance, direct opposition from other people, put-downs and the like are common ploys.

Another area that seems to cause problems is not from the enemy but from within—and from God. He will not launch you into the fullness of your calling until you can handle it! Too much uncontrolled power can destroy someone. It often takes years of training and preparation and it seems that the bigger the call, the more intense the training.

Elisha served Elijah for at least 21 years before entering into his ministry. He was training all that time.

Joshua was Moses’ servant for 40 years before he fully entered into his call which was to lead God’s people into the Promised Land. What was he doing? He was learning and adding to his experience.

John the Baptist spent 30 years in the wilderness of obscurity before entering the public arena.

Jesus spent 30 years out of the public gaze before He started His ministry.

Paul took 17 years before he was fully embraced into the ministry by the foundational apostles.

During those times of obscurity and training, it is easy to lose sight of the objective. Things come into our lives that may or may not be legitimate. After all, we have to eat and live normal lives in the process.  Isaiah said-

Listen to me, you islands. Pay attention, you people far away.
Before I was born, the LORD chose me.
While I was in my mother’s womb, he recorded my name.
He made my tongue like a sharp sword and hid me in the palm of his hand. He made me like a sharpened arrow and hid me in his quiver.
He said to me, “You are my servant Israel. I will display my glory through you.”
But I said, “I have worked hard for nothing. I have used my strength, but I didn’t accomplish anything. Yet, certainly my case is in the LORD’S hands, and my reward is with my God.”
The LORD formed me in the womb to be his servant in order to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to him. (The LORD honors me, and my God has become my strength.)
Now, the Lord says, “You are not just my servant who restores the tribes of Jacob and brings back those in Israel whom I have preserved. I have also made you a light for the nations so that you would save people all over the world.”
The LORD is the defender of Israel, its Holy One. This is what the LORD says to the despised one, to the one scorned by the nation, to the slave of rulers: Kings will see {you} and stand. Princes will see {you} and bow. The LORD is faithful.

The Holy One of Israel has chosen you.
This is what the LORD says: In the time of favor I will answer you. In the day of salvation I will help you. I will protect you. I will appoint you as my promise to the people. You will restore the land. You will make them inherit the desolate inheritance.
You will say to the prisoners, “Come out,” and to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.” They will graze along every path, and they will find pastures on every bare hill. Isaiah 49:1-9.

Please read all of chapter 49 carefully. Isaiah was a prophet, but he was hidden in God’s quiver and hidden in God’s hand. He went through dramas, wondering if it was ever going to happen, but God had him locked away with Himself, hidden from the world, but when the timing was right, God reached into His quiver, chose the polished shaft, fitted it to His bow and fired..at the right time!

I have already touched on this before, but there is still much more to share and I am running out of space. Change is happening all around the world. The political, economic, social climate is volatile and the church is facing a critical hour, needing to step up to the plate.
Our voices are all but silenced whilst the world system is invading the territory the church should occupy.

COVID-19 has also impacted society and had a big influence on the church.
The genuine prophetic voice has to return.

These prophets (and other ministry gifts) are going to speak for God to the church first and then to the world at large, but most folk in the church however will not like it. They have to hear what God is saying nevertheless and on most occasions it is like John’s message, telling God’s people (not the heathen) to get ready.
John challenged the religious leaders then as a prelude to Jesus’ appearing. When Jesus arrived, He too challenged the status quo. They challenged mindsets, prejudices and tradition to pave the way for what was to come. Doing this is not popular. It will be opposed.

Perhaps a similar message is required as a prelude to His return, but it will not be popular amongst the religious leaders and people. On the other hand, the genuinely hungry folk...hungry for God, will love it.

Often times what they declare will be radical by many people’s standards, but changes are happening both in the spirit dimension and in the physical and prophets are needed to reveal what is happening.

According to Jeremiah, prophets are “in the building industry”. They prepare the building site and this requires much excavation and leveling of the land, digging up and bulldozing, removing obstacles and plain hard work for a very long time before anything seems to be happening. Once this is completed, the actual construction work commences.

...don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!”
Then the LORD reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth!
Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.” Jeremiah 1:8-10

God does the calling and provides what is needed to do the job, not self-appointed people. Prophets therefore come to lift the lid off things and to prepare the way for what God is going to do and in religious circles, they are not popular.
They receive a lot of flack and opposition and they have a big task ahead.

If you look closely at Jeremiah’s assignment, it was in two parts. The first was to rattle cages and upset the status quo before the building work was able to be done.

John the Baptist and Jesus did that also.
They challenged mindsets, prejudices and tradition to pave the way for what was to come.

If you are a real prophet, this is the kind of thing you will do.

It will not be not popular and it will be opposed.

The work is to be done in love and sometimes love is hard. God chastises those whom He loves. Such chastisement can be done by the ministry of the prophet, but after spanking a naughty child, the parent bestows love.

I touched on the opposition that comes from the enemy. The devil hates prophets and I need not elaborate much more on that. He hates them because they are God’s friends and because God reveals things to them and they move in the supernatural of God. Many people who occupy ministry positions and do not understand the importance of the real prophetic ministry also “attack” prophets.

I firmly believe that one of their last and greatest tasks is to help prepare God’s people for the return of Jesus!

Part of their mission is to deal with mindsets and prejudices that exist everywhere, especially in the church and, as John the Baptist had to do in addressing God’s people, prophets also have to do similar things.

This sounds radical, but the Church that Jesus is building is still a work in progress.

The five ascension Gift ministries envisaged in Ephesians chapter four are forever set in the church to bring us all to the state of perfection Paul spoke about.
In the following chapter, he elaborated on the need, telling us to redeem the time because of the evil days in which we live; to awake from slumber; to understand what the will of the Lord really is; to stop partaking of those things that the unsaved do; to be filled with the Spirit and so on.

He revealed how much Jesus loves His Church and because He wants a beautiful and glorious Church, He is going to work hard on preparing us and he will send prophets in our midst to help it happen.
 

Prophets receive their assignments and just go about them, but sometimes people do not want to hear the truth.

On those occasions, if you are a prophet, do your best to complete your assignment and it you are not received, just brush the dust off your feet, walk away and go onto your next assignment. You have done what the Lord asked you to do and that is all you need to concern yourself about. The reward does not necessarily depend on evident results, but on the obedience factor.