Jan 17th 2009
2) Does the prophetic word violate scriptural patterns?
(When talking on patterns we need to understand that they don’t necessarily apply to every situation. There are exceptions to this, which we will also look into)
1) Prophecy was almost always with conditions in scripture, if without conditions it usually came to pass.
Deut 18:22- When a prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah, if the thing does not follow nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah has not spoken.The prophet has spoken it presumptuously.You shall not be afraid of him.
Today we seem to have developed a different pattern apart from scripture. Almost every word given is without any requirements. This has its origin from the mindset that God’s Love is unconditional. I must agree that God’s Love is unconditional towards us in the context of us being sinners and not being able to save ourselves. However we can experience that Love only if we meet certain requirements. The very basis of us getting saved required repentance and faith. If there were no repentance and faith toward God then there is no salvation. I’m not eliminating God’s work in this. Im just bringing out our role in salvation.
If that is the case with our initial experience then we can safely say the same pattern follows with every blessing God has bestowed on us. The reason for such detail is to show that prophetic words given today sadly contradict this scriptural pattern. We have so many prophetic words of God’s blessing spoken and what He will accomplish through people without any requirements. When this is the case and some of these words don’t come to pass it naturally leaves a lot of people confused.
Let us establish this thought further from scripture. We will use only New Testament references for this!
In regards to bearing fruit:
John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies,it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.
The requirement to bear fruit here is dying to ourselves.
In regards to spiritual blessings:
In Ephesians Paul talks about the spiritual blessings God has bestowed on us. However, if we continue reading through the verses we see Paul praying that their eyes might be opened to see the spiritual blessings. He also shows them how those blessings apply to (and through) the body of Christ as a whole.
Now we need to understand that not every prophetic word spoken might have details attached to it. My point was to show that God’s blessings must be accessed first and then properly channeled. This requires having a revelation of them first and then knowing how and where to properly channel them. They don’t automatically manifest, certain requirements need to be fulfilled.
In regards to gifts and callings:
During a conversation a brother was sharing his frustration. He was prophesied over that he had the gift of healing. He hadn’t walked in it yet and several years had passed after that prophecy. He had waited for something dramatic to happen for the gift to operate and nothing of that sort happened and he was frustrated. Only recently he had realized that he needed to step out in faith to see that gift in operation. He had to fulfill a condition to see the gift in operation. It is in this context we see Paul telling timothy to stir up the gift inside him.
In regards to the callings on our lives, we need to understand that we don’t start walking in them automatically. There are so many factors involved that determine whether we enter that calling, stay in that calling and eventually fulfill that calling. There is a role and an effective part that we need to play. We will do well if we are aware of this when we prophesy over people or are prophesied over.
In regards to rewards:
The best example is seen in Jesus address to the seven churches. We would see that every one of these churches was promised rewards only if they overcame or did the necessary.
In regards to words of blessings and encouragement: Through scripture the general pattern for the blessings of God were conditional!
Otherwise, when words of blessing were recorded (people were already doing the right thing), they were often encouraged to keep doing the right thing that led to the blessing. The church in Philadelphia did not receive any word of correction from the Lord, only blessings and promises. As He encouraged and blessed them we see Him also exhorting them to continue walking right before God
Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly. Hold fast to that which you have, so that no one may take your crown.
These examples show the necessity and importance of conditions or requirements. For our God is a Righteous God. When we fail to act from this as our foundation we will be disillusioned and could end up confusing a lot of people whom we minister to. This applies in the context of prophecy as well.
Having established this aspect of prophecy from scripture we will look into the other aspect also. Whenever a prophetic word was given and it was without conditions (in most cases) it came to pass. Through scripture we see this pattern. Whenever Israel went away from God almost always the prophetic words spoken over them came to pass.
Almost every prophetic prediction recorded in scripture without conditions came to pass. Jesus prophesied the destruction of the temple and it came to pass in 70 A.D. We also know and understand that there is no changing as to what scripture predicts regarding the end times. Whatever is written is written.
This should also be the common pattern for a prophecy today if it is without conditions. If someone has on a consistent basis prophesied and it has not come to pass, then they are most likely in the wrong pathway .
Now there are exceptions to this as said earlier. Quoting a few examples, Jonah prophesied that Nineveh would be destroyed but it did not come to pass. This was because there was repentance on the part of the people. Isaiah prophesied that Hezekiah would die immediately but when Hezekiah petitioned the Lord he was granted fourteen more years (Isaiah 38).
People commonly use these examples to justify when a prophecy does not come to pass. It is true that these are exceptions and they apply to specific situations. These however cannot be applied generally. Also there are several important truths we need to understand from these examples.
In the case of Jonah he knew earlier that the Lord would forgive the people and that is why he ran away to Tarshish (Jonah 4:2). Although he conveyed the prophecy he didn’t portray God’s heart over the situation. In regards to Isaiah, the same prophet who said Hezekiah would die was the same prophet who brought back the message that he would live. In both the cases there was a genuine and a heart felt cry from the recipients towards the Lord to see the prophecy changed.
So here are some questions that need to be asked in regards to prophecies that don’t come to pass.
1)Was the person (who prophesied) aware that the prophecy would not come to pass before the event (that failed to happen)? God honors His prophets and He will let them know ahead if the prophecy was not coming to pass.
2) Was there a significant event in light of the prophecy in the recipient’s life? Did they petition the Lord against the prophecy or repent of their actions that led to the prophecy in the first place?
It is difficult to answer these questions in every case but these can be very helpful guidelines in judging those kinds of prophetic words.
Brethren in concluding this thought let us ask God reveal Himself as Righteous and Just in our lives. Let us remember that the acts of Lord are found in the ways of the Lord. Let us get to know His ways and start walking in them.
