The prophetic movement has been inundated by false and inaccurate prophecies. This has been devastating to the credibility of the prophetic movement. Prophets have become a laughingstock to those in the world. Why is that? Because of the failure to discern the difference between true prophecies from false or inaccurate prophecies. Further, we don't recognize what true prophets look like.
As a new believer, I was hungry to learn about prophecy. I wanted prophetic ministry. I sought prophetic ministry. And I received genuine prophetic ministry from true prophets or ministers who functioned in true prophetic ministry. I received my 1st prophetic word with laying on of hands as an adult from Rick Renner in 1988 at the church I attended in Iowa City, Iowa, Grace Fellowship. What a blessing! My 2nd prophetic word as an adult was from Rusty Russell and another prophet named, Bob, while attending a church service at Maranatha Ministries in Coralville, Iowa around the same time I received the 1st prophetic word. Powerful! Life transforming! My 3rd prophetic word came from Tom and Tammy Slone while attending their church in Bensonville, Illinois. Off the Charts! Beyond amazing!
I still remember attending a conference in San Antonio, Texas where Paul Cain was ministering. It was at that meeting that Bob Weiner decided to shut down the ministry he founded, Maranatha Ministries. I Also met Stephen Strang while attending that conference: he had a teaching session on Christian media. Later, Stephen Strang wrote about his experience at that conference where he investigated the prophetic words given by Paul Cain to a handful of people. Although the facts given by Paul Cain were accurate, the prophetic words did not come to pass, according to Strang. My experience with the prophetic in that conference had nothing to do with Paul Cain. Rather, I remember sitting outside the location where personal prophecies were being given with 2 friends because the cloud of God's glory was so thick. I hungered for the real and received it.
My experience with the prophetic ministry has been overwhelmingly positive. I have had the privilege of meeting and spending time with leaders in the prophetic movement. My good friend, Burton Seavey, was a wonderful prophet who had witnessed the rise of William Braham, experienced the supernatural power of God as he traveled the United States from the 1960s to the 1980s. Burton moved in the flow of the Holy Spirit. I attended his school of the Holy Spirit in Oak Park, Illinois in the 1990s. Several times I ministered on prophetic teams. That was a fulfillment of part of the 3rd prophetic word I received from Tom Slone. I learned prophetic ministry from the ground up through mentorship from senior prophets who knew the difference between the real and the false.
Today, I see an absence of what I experienced. I believe that is why the prophetic movement is in the state it is in today. An absence of discernment due to a lack of mentorship by senior prophets. Because of that absence, we have snakes in the prophetic movement that must be removed from the house. Yes, many snakes have turned the prophetic office into a slick means of profiting financially for personal gain. As a result, numerous young prophets have succumbed to one or more of the deadly sins I highlighted in my last blog post, The Seven Deadly Sins of Prophetic Ministry.
I am a senior prophet. I have been a prophet since 1991 (In 1991, I wrote my 1st book, Decade of Destiny, where I accurately prophesied the coming revival and war after 2000). I have been a senior prophet since 2002 (In 2002, I wrote my book, Entering the School of the Prophets, to aid younger prophets understand their own call to be trained as a prophet). I was trained the right way by right-hearted prophets who had wisdom seasoned by time-tested experience. I learned the how to's of prophetic ministry by participating in the training process.
Sadly, amidst the numerous schools of prophecy that we have today, there is an absence of the key element of mentoring by proven senior prophets. Yes, the prophetic spirit is caught not just taught; the mantle of prophecy must be passed from one generation to the next. Yes, there is a true prophetic sound that one must learn to hear by spending time with a true God-anointed senior prophet. Without that, we will experience what we have today - an infestation of snakes in the prophet's house.
That is where we stand today. But I have good news: snakes in the prophet's house are being exposed for the purpose of seeing them removed. In 1 Corinthian 11:19, the Apostle Paul, reveals this principle by pointing to the divisions in their midst. Those divisions were the result of heresies (false teachings) being taught by "deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ." 2 Cor. 11:13. Today, we have deceitful workers who have transformed themselves into prophets of God.
How do we discern these "angels of light"? The Apostle Paul identified one of the key characteristics that all deceitful workers have: "When someone makes you slaves, consumes your wealth, seizes your property, orders you around, or slaps your faces, you put up with it." 2 Cor. 11:20, God's Word Translation. False prophets, like false apostles, abuse those under their care. False prophets don't like having their prophetic words judged for accuracy. Nor do they take accountability for those prophetic words ministered.
I believe in accountability. I believe in authority. I believe in humility. Yet we lack accountability for prophetic words ministered. A general state of anarchy exists in the body of Christ. And humility has become a 4 letter word, especially in the prophetic movement. As I prophesied on December 30, 2019, "I see much humbling coming to the prophetic movement." I also shared the cure: "We must humble ourselves." Sadly, few prophets have been willing to humble themselves. Where does that leave the prophetic movement? At odds with God.
In Jeremiah 13, we can read one of the greatest lessons on humility ever taught in history by the prophet Jeremiah: I call it the easy way or hard way lesson: 1) the path of humbling ourselves, or 2) the path of being humbled by God. Yes, God can and does humble people if they refuse to humble themselves. It is that humbling process that ferrets out the false and showcases the true.
Get ready! The real showdown in the coming days isn't between true prophets and false prophets. No, the real showdown is between prophets and God. The question: Will we choose the path of humbling ourselves?
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