From a young child the burden was in me for the nation and I have sensed the impending judgment hand of God. But in those dreams and visions, I also knew the protecting hand of God.
There are a lot of prophecies going around that are sensational. They will impress almost anybody.
Some are quite veiled and require you to get into the mind of the one having the dream or vision or word, but others are real plain in meaning or symbology.
I tend to shy away from the ones that require the personality of the visionary, because since the prophecy was given in that manner, it must mean that it was meant for that manner--in other words, it is more for that individual than for me because of the focus it requires.
When God does speak in the veiled, He also provides the gift of interpretation to go with it and sometimes we must wait on that. But we need to ask ourselves: What is the point?
There is nothing wrong with people having personal visions and visitations, but my life is and is to be based on the Word of God more than an individual’s gift of revelation. There is enough challenge in the written Word without my setting up another person that I must have to go through to interpret! In these days, God has spoken to us by His Son, who has sent the Holy Spirit to help us. (Hebrews 1:2, John 16:13)
It would point to the logical conclusion that if people have dreams and visions that can only be understood by them, that the dream or vision is for them and if they find they must press it upon you, the caution flag of manipulation or error should shoot up.
I really believe that most mean well by these things, but we are called to discern. Jesus said to be “wise as serpents, yet harmless as doves.” If we are not wise to “the wiles of the devil,” we can surely be misled, but if we all weren’t subject to the enemy’s schemes, we would never have been told we should and would know them.
Jesus said a tree is known by its fruit. He was speaking of people really, by using a parable, and speaking of the good fruit of the Spirit versus the wrong. Let me ask you, what good is a doom and gloom prophecy that does come to pass? What is the good of the one that did not?
We cannot justify or rationalize away our sin and guilt, we must deal with it correctly in the Spirit along the Biblical guidelines. But having said that, things do come our way that require a thinking-through process on our part and in this we must lean into Spirit (Holy Spirit) and Truth (Jesus, the Word).
Man left to his own imagination will surely fall again, having a rerun of the diabolic Garden experience. “Well, it seemed right at the time!” But it wasn’t.
God will use the foolish things to confound the wise, and the “foolishness” of God is wiser than the wisest man! [I Corinthians 1:25] God used a donkey and a false prophet to prophesy to and protect His people.
Having been around for “a little while” (whatever that would mean), one thing I have found out is that at times of spiritual tension, the prophets come out in droves. When injustice takes a glory, when the wickedness of mankind is prevailing, prophetic people get stirred.
But not all prophets are as accurate or “on target” as others. Some words can be exactly right and some can be close, catching the drift of the Spirit, but not saying it quite right. People have a hard time with baby and developing prophets who miss it, and well should be the charge as God does hold them responsible for their words, but there is also grace on the calling.
What we have found today is prophets too quick to say the first thing that comes to their mind and this is a snare not only to the prophet but also the people to whom they prophesy. Whether they realize it or not, or want it or not, there is an accountability that goes with this ministry.
Now since no one else is perfect either, it must be said that prophets have the same access to the blood of Jesus for forgiveness and His work on the Cross as well. But just as pastors have a higher accountability level, so do prophets. If they offend, the will be bound and face the judgment!
Because God has put a blessing on the prophet, the prophet must accurately convey their work. To do otherwise is to invite the work of the enemy and the prophets will eat of the resulting fruit as well. There is no "special exemption" covering for the prophet than there is for that the pastor, teacher, evangelist and apostle (sent one) or sheep. There is a grace, but God is no respector of persons.
He is a respector of the ministry callings, but the accountability of obedience to what He has called each individual to do is strict and the same for all. In other words, it may be a different calling, but it is the same measure of accountability when it comes to obedience.
There are times when things happen in world events or even local ones that I know by the Spirit of God the thing is not right and my spirit is grieved. For the prophet, when this takes place, a spirit of intercession takes over, a groaning and travail in the inner man that cries out to God for His Spirit and action to move on behalf of the situation.
Sometimes God will call the intercessor to take action, and then we see how sincere those prayers really are! Discernment is one thing--knowing what is right and wrong--and power to stand is another. They are not one and the same. Wisdom is knowing the right thing to do in that situation and righteousness is doing it!
There is an inner justice in us all that cries out. Some do more with that than others in prayer. The prophet heavily focuses on such things. And this focus and concern can lead to prophecies, and these prophecies can sometimes come across as “doom and gloom” prophecies.
If the prophecy is of Jesus' Spirit of the Godhead, there will be a grace offered. If the prophecy is of the Father’s authority Spirit, then a judgment will take place but it will be accurate, and it will be a correction of a wrong.
Too many have words today of judgment that are not accurate and because of that, people begin to not take them seriously and others can be quite offended or discouraged or even defeated. This is NOT the good fruit of the Spirit of God!
A prophecy of the Holy Spirit's leading will be one of exhortation (encouragement), comfort and edification. All may prophesy in this realm and should, according to the exhortation of Scripture, but it is most often those with the office calling of prophet or minister who will prophesy in the other areas. But as mentioned before, God can use the foolish to confound those who are wise in their own eyes. God can use a donkey to get His point across! He can also use a burning bush and earthquakes and physical translations.
Sometimes when I don’t feel good, I get grumpy. And when things are not right in the spirit realm, prophetic people who are sensitive to such things can get grumpy and out of their mouths will come things that later they may wish they had not said.
We must have grace for such things for God has called us to unity not judgment, but there are others who use the “prophetic” word for power (manipulation) and/or personal gain. The psychic is such an example of this, but there are also those who exhibit controlling spirits who want power over others and so they “prophesy” and put the fear of God in people but their prophesying is not right.
Others must come along and rescue and this can be difficult. A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and if the person is not seeking the Word of God for answers, it sometimes can be impossible. This grieves not only the heart of God but also the people who walk in love as true Christians.
A person, however, is responsible alone before God for their life before Him, and before we heap condemnation on an offending brother or sister, we must realize that we each must stand alone before God and give an account. God says that even nature speaks of Him and His Laws are written on our hearts. (Romans 1) But we are also accountable for every bit of the Word of God that is available to us for that is how God has set it up! There are no excuses for our laziness before God. Behold the severity and mercy of God! He is not playing.
I defend prophets to a great degree because God has called me to minister to them. But we are all judged by the Truth and not a mortal man, except the God-man Christ Jesus.
To sum it up, I like what I heard Kim Clement say one time: God gives a word in the Spirit and His prophets pick it up in their spirit and translate it to their own words and culture. So there will be a variety of prophecies but the essences will be the same. And there are times when the Lord will take over a person's mouth (or a donkey) to say what He wants said, but the enemy also attempts to do the same so you must know God's will by His written word to judge (discern) it.
We judge by the fruit. Who is exalted? Is it God or the man or woman? Prophecy is not a contest as to who is the most accurate. That type of flesh exaltation is opposed to the Spirit of God who would that all be saved and blessed and submit to one another. The gifts of the Spirit are for our enrichment and edification. The prophets' role is clearly defined in Ephesians 4:11-16.
There will be corrections and judgments in the Spirit of God. But the grace of God is stronger than man and if we are walking in Him, the gift will be one that works for the benefit of the Body of Christ. How do you judge a tree, Jesus said? By its fruit.
He also said (Matthew 7:22-23) “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? and in Thy Name have cast out devils? and in Thy Name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.”
Does the prophecy promote fear and defeat, or a stronger walk in the Lord? Let us be wise in both our speaking and our hearing.
God Bless You,
Pam Clark