Yes, the spirit of rebellion has entered into the prophetic movement. That spirit has corrupted and perverted the spirit of prophecy and caused prophets to prophesy from their own hearts rather than the heart of God. To understand how the spirit of rebellion has entered into today's prophetic movement, I want to talk about discerning how the spirit of rebellion is working in the prophetic movement today. There are specific signs of the spirit of rebellion in the prophetic movement that must be addressed.
Prophets have always been susceptible to the spirit of rebellion. In Deuteronomy 13:1-3, ISV, it reveals how prophets can lead others into a place of rebellion:
A prophet or a diviner of dreams may arise among you, give you an omen or a miracle that takes place, and then he may tell you, ‘Let’s follow other gods (whom you have not known) and let’s serve them.’ Even though the sign or portent comes to pass, you must not listen to the words of that prophet or that diviner of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to make known whether or not you’ll continue to love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.
Yes, God does allow His people to be tested through false prophets. Why? To make known our hearts. False prophecy, especially as identified here, is a test. When false prophecy enters into the Church it is designed to test the heart of the Church. Yes, God is testing the hearts of His people. And that test may involve supernatural signs, miracles, that actually take place. That means we must learn to discern prophetic ministry beyond when it is accurate. Accuracy is not a sign that prophecy is legitimate.
The Apostle Paul was being ministered to by a young slave girl who was a pawn of Satan. That girl followed Paul and prophesied:
"These men are the bondservants of the Most High God, and are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." Acts 16:17, Weymouth New Testament.
Later, Paul became grieved by the spirit behind this prophetic utterance; it was actually a spirit of divination. But what the young girl prophesied was true. Paul was an apostle. Paul considered himself a slave of Jesus Christ. Rom. 1:1, NLT. So the girl was telling the truth. But the origin of what she said was demonic. So, factually true prophetic utterances are not necessarily from God; they may be of Satan. As such, we must carefully discern the source of all prophecy
Jesus gave us His wisdom regarding discerning true and false prophets:
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Matt. 7:15,16, ESV.
We can recognize true or false prophets by the fruit of their lives. As such, we must begin looking beyond accuracy to discern true prophets from false prophets. We must look at the fruit of prophets ministering in our midst. We must discern whether the prophecies being given are bearing good fruit. For that to happen, we must understand the purpose of prophecy. Often, prophets do not explain the purpose of prophecy. But we must know the purpose of prophecy to discern its fruit.
The purpose of prophecy, as defined by the Apostle Paul, is revealed in his writings to the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 14:4, ESV, Paul writes,
The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.
Prophecy, when functioning correctly, builds up the church. The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 12:7, World English Bible, teaches that "the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all." That means, prophecy, when it functions correctly in the church, it builds up the church. When prophecy is not functioning correctly it can divide the church. Hence, the purpose of prophecy is connected to the building of the church.
Prophets are called to build the church. That is most easily done in local churches. In Acts 15:41, NLT, we see Paul, with Silas, "traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches there." In Acts 15:32, we see two other prophets, Judas and Silas, prophesying among the church to strengthen those churches. How did they strengthen the churches? Through prophecy. Their prophecies built up churches. Prophets today, when they prophesy within churches, should build up those churches.
Spiritual gifts are and were designed to build up churches. Paul traveled to local churches to strengthen those churches. As an apostle, Paul fathered the churches he planted. As a prophet, Paul strengthened the churches he ministered in through prophecy. Paul understood and relied on spiritual gifts, especially prophecy, to build churches. That is what all prophetic ministry should do. Sadly, not all prophecy builds the church today. Some prophecies divide and destroy churches.
When prophecy divides and destroys the church, it is not of God, even if it is accurate. Further, the person who is prophesying may be an anointed and gifted person; they may be a true prophet and/or apostle. But if the words being prophesied do not consistently build up the church, then we need to seriously question the source of the words being given. Remember, we are being graded by God as prophecies are being given; they are designed to test our hearts.
Today, I see many prophets and prophetic people using their spiritual gifts to advance their ministries for personal gain. Prophets have slipped into the unholy trinity of "me, my, and I" that is often desired by those longing for a personal prophecy. Prophecy has become about us. While prophecy is designed for us, it is also designed for a greater purpose than us; prophecy is designed to build the church, especially local churches.
I want to challenge prophets to avoid prostituting their gifts for the purpose of personal gain. I want to challenge prophetically gifted believers to not pervert the gift of prophecy for personal gain. Building your bank account on earth, while not evil, if done by perverting the prophetic office and ministry is evil. Cultivating greed by promising personal prophetic ministry is never good. Often, it is evil. When that happens, the prophetic office and gift have been perverted and prostituted.
I believe in supporting prophets and prophetic ministry. I wish believers knew the price prophets pay for ministering to them prophetically. It is not cheap. Yes, there is a cost associated with ministering powerful, accurate prophetic words that produce good fruit. That is why Jesus speaks of the prophet's reward. But offering the prophet's reward to obtain more money was never what Jesus meant. No, the prophet should minister irrespective of the offering given, and trust God to meet their personal needs.
I want to address something I see happening in the church: apostles and prophets stealing tithes from local churches. Some even deny the doctrine of tithing. While not speaking on the doctrine of tithing, I believe tithes belong to the local church. Further, I believe offerings should be given to support local church pastors. While some have abused the pastoral office, most have not. Most local church pastors live by faith, and the financial burden of the church rests on them. To steal tithes from local churches, does not build them up.
That is the rebellion I see in the prophetic movement today. I see many prophets and prophetic people who promote themselves to advance their own ministries, which do not advance or build the church. I cannot support that kind of abuse of spiritual gifts, especially prophecy. Avoid that kind of spirit; it is contrary to the spirit and doctrine of Christ and His apostles. Rather, let us focus on prophecy that builds the church to the glory of God.
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