2 Chronicles 20:20 "So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper."
God's people faced a formidable enemy alliance and didn't know what to do. As they waited before the Lord for direction a prophetic word came through a young man named Jahaziel. Jehoshaphat immediately obeyed God's revelation and prepared his troops to advance.
His instructions to his people were brief but spiritually potent: "Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper."
Prophecy is one of the spiritual gifts bestowed on believers by God through the Holy Spirit according to 1 Corinthians 12:28. "Prophecy" is speaking under the special inspiration of God. It is the supernatural ability to receive and communicate an immediate message of God to His people through a divinely-anointed utterance.
In the Old Testament people went to prophets for guidance because the gift of Holy Spirit baptism was not yet given and the presence of God was shut up in the Holy of Holies. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we now have access to the presence of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit, both of which provide guidance. Paul declares in Romans 8:14, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."
It is no longer necessary to go to a prophet to receive spiritual guidance since this is one of the functions of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian. Each believer should learn how to be led by God's Spirit which is actually the "spirit of prophecy" operating in them. The New Testament gives no record of believers seeking advice from prophets after the gift of the Holy Spirit was given, but this in no way undermines the importance of the prophetic ministry. To "prophesy" means to declare openly words from God that exhort, edify, and comfort:
1 Corinthians 14:3 "But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men."
The words spoken by a prophet under divine inspiration are called prophecies and if you adhere to them you will be successful.
The Holy Spirit is always in control of true prophecy and directs attention to Jesus Christ:
1 Corinthians 12:1-3 "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit"
Prophecy does not replace the written Word of God. The Bible says prophecy will cease, but the Word of God abides forever in 1 Corinthians 13:8 and 1 Peter 1:25. The Bible also warns of false prophets in Matthew 24:11, 24 and Mark 13:22. Because there are false prophets, God's Word provides several ways to identify them:
Romans 12:6 "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith."
The phrase "in proportion to faith" means in right relation to the faith. The way to recognize true prophecies is by whether or not they agree with the basic doctrines of the Christian faith revealed in the Bible. For example, false prophets do not confess the deity of Jesus Christ:
1 John 4:1-3 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ h is come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world."
False prophets teach sexual immorality and permissiveness:
2 Peter 2:1-3 "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber."
False prophets deceive people with miraculous signs:
Matthew 24:11 "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many"
24:24 "For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."
The evidence of spiritual fruit is the true test of any ministry:
Matthew 7:15, 16 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?"
Spiritual fruit is observed by analyzing results of a prophet's ministry and the spiritual qualities demonstrated in his life.
Any prophet who claims to be divine is false:
Matthew 24:23, 24 "Then if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Christ!” or “There!” do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."
The final test by which a true prophet can be identified is whether or not what he prophesies comes to pass:
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 "But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?--when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him."
Because there are many false prophets, some believers totally disregard the prophetic ministry, but Jehoshaphat declared, "Believe His prophets and prosper." Success comes through believing the "sure Word of prophecy" delivered by true prophets and through the spirit of prophecy that abides within each Holy Spirit filled believer. Perhaps there would be less confusion in the Church today if the prophetic ministry was reactivated in more of our congregations.
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